History
by vvmadp
Summary: Elena Gilbert's nightmare is just beginning. Picks up right where season one finale left off. No relationship is left unchanged in the aftermath as history comes back to haunt them all...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

* * *

The first thing she saw were feet.

At first she thought maybe her uncle John had sat on the floor of their beige kitchen with his legs sprawled, though it didn't fit at all in his tailored, uptight image.

And then she saw the blood.

Horror and revulsion choked her; chills ran down her, making the hair on her body stand up on end as she stared in disbelief at the sight of her uncle—her biological father—leaning against the cabinets, his eyes open, a blank expression on his face.

Unmoving.

"No," she begged, diving to her knees in the pool of blood that had formed around him, from what appeared to be a massive wound in his stomach. "Uncle John. Uncle John!" She looked down in horror at his right hand, which was missing most of his fingers, including the ring Stefan had said would protect him. The same ring Alaric wore.

"Oh god," she moaned, reaching forward to shake him. "Uncle John!" she cried. He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. Oh god, he was really… "Jenna!" she shouted desperately, turning to look at the entrance to the kitchen. "Jenna!"

No answer. No frantic running of feet to her impassioned plea. Nothing.

"Jenna!" she shouted again, her voice hitting a hysterical note.

Silence.

A feeling of dread washed over her. Elena slowly climbed to her feet, terrified trepidation twisting in her stomach as she cautiously made her way through the living room. This couldn't be happening. Jenna couldn't… No. Jenna was fine. She couldn't be… "Jenna?" Elena half-pleaded, peering up the stairs.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as she slowly headed up the creaking staircase, clinging to the railing for support.

It seemed to take an eternity before she was finally at the top of the staircase, turning down the hallway to her aunt's bedroom. She felt tears already stinging in her eyes as she reached out for the door knob. Not Jenna, too. She couldn't lose Jenna, too. First her parents, then her birth mother, then her biological father… Not Jenna, too…

Elena turned the door knob and pushed.

* * *

Jenna ripped out her headphones and stared at her in a mixture of horror, terror, and fear as she sat up, mid-crunch on the floor in her yoga pants and white tank top.

"E-Elena?" Jenna asked, sounding as sickened as Elena felt relieved.

"Jenna, thank god," Elena sobbed, diving to her knees and throwing her arms around her aunt, not caring that she was getting her uncle's blood all over the woman. The woman's brother's blood. "I thought you—"

"Elena, what—" Jenna stammered, sounding stricken.

"I-it's Uncle John," Elena choked out. "Jenna… someone… in the kitchen…"

Jenna stared at her for only a split second before she was rushing out of the room. Elena followed her quickly. "Jenna, you don't want to—" Elena tried.

But it was too late. She heard her aunt's horrified screams. Elena closed her eyes and tried to compose herself—tried to hold herself calm despite the horror of the situation—and went to her brother's room. "Jeremy," she said through the closed door. "You need to come out. It's…" She didn't wait for an answer as she opened the door, a mixture of confusion and uneasiness stopping her in her tracks as she stared at her brother's still figure on his bed.

Jeremy Gilbert was covered in sweat, curled up uncomfortably on his bed in an awkward position that didn't resemble anything natural. He was buried in his pillows, and he was alarmingly pale and ashen.

"Jeremy?" Elena asked, feeling another chill through her body. She hurried to the bed, reaching over to shake her brother's shoulder. "Jeremy?" he was still warm under her hand, but he was unresponsive. Unmoving.

Not breathing.

"Jeremy!" Elena cried. "No. No. No. Jeremy, what…" She pulled him to her, cuddling her brother's body, catching sight of the bathroom—of her prescription bottle open and empty on the countertop—and felt her hysteria grow. "Jeremy, no! Jeremy! No!"

She yanked out her phone and dialed 911, begging for an ambulance. And then she held her brother's body, rocked him, and sobbed.

* * *

"Stefan's cell phone. He's not in right now, but—"

"Damon."

She heard him shift, and somehow knew he had sat up from whatever lounging position he'd been in. "Where are you?"

Elena let out a shaky breath. "The hospital. Emergency room."

She heard him getting his keys, and she knew she shouldn't be so grateful, but she was. "I'll be right there." He hesitated. "I'll leave Stefan a note."

"Thank you." She heard her voice crack, and ended her call. Slowly, she made her way back to where Jenna was seated with her cup of coffee, still in her workout clothes, a blank look on her face.

"Jenna," Elena said softly. Her aunt looked up at her listlessly. "Do you want me to call Alaric?"

Jenna just stared at her. After a moment, she shook her head and looked away. Elena nodded and sat back down, bringing her knees to her chest as they waited for news of Jeremy.

"Here."

Elena followed the steaming coffee cup in front of her to the pale hand holding it, up to the leather jacket covered arm, up to the broad shoulders, to the pale neck, to the strong jaw line and thin, well-sculpted lips, defined cheekbones, and finally up to the shockingly blue eyes of Damon Salvatore.

His normally proud, mocking, teasing expression was replaced with a sympathetic, calm, subdued expression that was so anti-Damon—and yet, perhaps, more Damon than the Damon he portrayed himself to be—that she felt tears spring to her eyes. If it was so serious that Damon had to be himself, his real self, then it really had to be helpless. Jeremy really might be…

She burst into tears, falling against his shoulder.

She felt him sigh, his arms wrapping securely around her. Damon didn't ask questions. He didn't say a word. He just held her and let her cry. She felt everything she had been shoving down rush up around her like a tidal wave, threatening to drown her, but Damon held her firmly, keeping her safe amidst all of the chaos in her mind.

Finally, when she was all cried out, she heard herself say, "It's Jeremy. He… overdosed…"

A change went over Damon. She felt it. His entire body stiffened. "Overdosed?" Damon repeated.

She pulled away slowly, exhausted after her crying fest. "On my pills."

"What room is he in?"

Alarm began to take hold. "What?" she asked, chills running down her body.

"What room, Elena?" Damon stood, looking suddenly agitated.

She stood as well. "I-I don't know… They won't let us see him y—Damon!" Damon was already headed down the hallway, through the Emergency Room doors.

"Elena, what is he—" Jenna demanded, looking outraged.

"I don't know," Elena told her quickly, rushing after him. "Damon, what is it?" she asked, keeping at his heels as he started looking in at beds. "What do you know about Jeremy?"

He didn't answer. "Damon!" she objected, grabbing his arm and spinning him to face her. He looked back at her, a flicker of irritation on his face. "What is it? What do you know?"

He looked tempted to ignore her, but he reluctantly said, "Jeremy had Anna's blood. If he drank it and dies with it in his system—"

"Flat line! Code blue! We need a crash cart in here!"

Elena cried out as her hand was suddenly empty. She looked up at the opposite side of the room, where Damon was staring in at a bed, where doctors and nurses were trying to push him out of the way, even as they rushed in behind a curtain, trying to get the machines ready.

At the sickened look on Damon's face, Elena felt her heart stop beating.

And then everything went black.

* * *

"Why didn't you take the blood away from him?"

Elena looked up numbly at Sefan's low, guttural hiss of fury. Her boyfriend was angry… on her behalf? At who?

Slowly, she focused on the eldest Salvatore brother, who was staring back at his brother through dark, unrelenting eyes. "It wasn't my decision," Damon returned quietly. "It was Jeremy's."

Elena straightened, wide-eyed, as Stefan grabbed Damon by his jacket and yanked him closer. "You should have taken it from him!" Stefan growled. "He was emotional and traumatized at the news of his girlfriend dying. You should have known he would do something irrational. How could you let him sit in his room with that bottle of blood?"

Damon shoved Stefan off of him. "Because that _blood_ was the only thing he had left of her!" he snapped. "I wasn't about to take it from him."

Stefan leaned back and glared at him. "And now he's going to become a vampire, Damon. A _vampire_. You let this happen. You!"

Elena waited for Damon to fight back—to yell at Stefan and defend himself—but Damon just stared back at him. And then, to her astonishment, he looked away. "He wanted to keep her close to him forever. I wasn't going to take that from him."

"And you know the price you have to pay for that!" Stefan howled, grabbing Damon's shoulder and swinging his brother back to face him. Elena watched in shock as the two brothers faced each other down. "You, better than _anyone_, know what that feels like. And now you—_you_, Damon—have damned Elena's brother to that same torment for eternity! Eternity!"

Elena felt her heart sink. "Is it really so bad?" she asked softly, trembling. She saw the brothers both look at her out of the corner of her eye, falling away from each other, and slowly looked up at them. "Is it really so horrible? Is Jeremy… going to be miserable for the rest of his life?"

Stefan quickly knelt at her side. "No," he reassured her gently. "He won't be. We'll…" he hesitated, darting a half-glance over his shoulder at his brother, but went on, "We'll show him how to handle it. How to maintain his humanity. He'll be fine, Elena. I promise."

Damon turned away.

Stefan stood. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

Damon only turned back slightly. "He's going to be hungry when he wakes up," he replied quietly. "Don't you think he should be out of the hospital when that happens?"

"Oh god," Elena moaned. She heard Damon's footsteps leading out of the house and chased after him quickly, catching up to him as he reached the front door. "Damon!" she begged.

He turned back to her, his carefully guarded expression hiding anguish that was almost palpable. Stefan was wrong about him—he was all wrong. Damon felt responsible. And he was going to do whatever he could to fix it.

A soft, gentle hand lightly skimmed her cheek, startling her. "I'll take care of him," Damon promised quietly.

And then the door opened, and he was gone.

* * *

"Elena!"

Elena hesitantly offered a smile at Damon. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Damon cast a quick look around the forest, thick with trees and brush and frowned, taking her arm. "It's not safe here."

She stopped as he started walking her back in the direction she had come from. "I wanted to know… how it was going."

He studied her for a moment. "No you don't," he declared, after a moment, then resumed walking.

"Damon, stop!" she protested, digging her heels in and pulling her arm free as she faced him. "He's my brother. I… want to know."

He took a step toward her, closing the distance between them. "Elena," he stated quietly. "It's not pretty. He's learning to hunt right now. It's messy and brutal and it's not all elegant lace and quick moves like the movies would have you believe. He's learning, and it takes some time."

"He's my brother," she repeated. She hesitated. "Look. I know you're trying to protect me… But I could really use…" She hesitated, but forced herself to meet his eyes. "Cavalier Damon." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I know you feel like this is your fault, and Stefan isn't helping, but I know it's not. Jeremy was going to do whatever he wanted. You had nothing to do with it. And I… appreciate you helping him. I just could really use the old Damon who reassured me that everything was going to be fine and teased me too much."

He studied her. "I thought you didn't want me to tease you," he returned, but almost on command, a devilish twinkle lit his eyes and turned up the corner of his mouth.

"Right now, I could really just use some… normalcy." She sighed. "My uncle, who was actually my biological father, is dead, and my brother is a vampire. I kind of just want everything to go back to the way it was as much as possible."

She pulled back at the suddenly stricken look on Damon's face. "Everything?" he repeated.

She frowned. "Yes," she agreed slowly, bewildered.

He frowned back at her. "Elena, I don't—"

"I did it!" Jeremy's triumphant cry interrupted, ringing throughout the trees. They both turned, the strange, almost intimate moment between them interrupted as Jeremy appeared, holding the carcass of a dead raccoon, its throat torn out. Elena felt her stomach churn at the sight of her brother with his mouth covered in blood, his clothes drenched in it, but she forced her revulsion down, trying to remind herself of what Damon had said… and that it would get better. That Jeremy needed to do this to live.

That at least Jeremy was alive.

"Elena," Jeremy greeted, his smile falling.

"Hi, Jer," Elena returned, forcing a smile. "Looks like you're doing well. You have a good teacher."

Jeremy turned away from her. "Go away, Elena."

It was worse than any wound he could have inflicted. "Jeremy—" she protested.

"Go away!" he shouted. Before she could blink, he was gone, the raccoon discarded where he had been seconds before.

Elena felt her heart sink. Tears stung her eyes as she stared at the spot Jeremy had disappeared from.

"He doesn't want you to see him like this," Damon said quietly. "No one would."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Elena protested. "He's my brother!"

"He's a monster," Damon returned. "He drinks blood to survive. He's not human anymore. He doesn't want you to know that side of him."

"I see you drink blood all the time!" Elena burst out angrily, turning on him. In that moment, his compassionate, understanding blue eyes were too much for her to take. "I don't think you're a monster! Why would I think Jeremy is?"

To her astonishment, Damon turned away from her. "Because you see something in me most people can't," he replied quietly. "Most people would think I'm a monster after everything I've done." She fell back, stunned. "Go home, Elena. I'm going to find Jeremy."

"Damon!" she protested.

But it was too late. He was gone.

* * *

"Where is he?" Elena demanded, shouldering her way past Damon and into the house.

"Ow, not so loud," Damon complained, holding a hand to his head. "He's in my bed. _Which he stole!_" he shouted pointedly up the stairs.

Elena didn't wait as she ran up to Damon's room, rushing to where her brother slept peacefully in the eldest Salvatore brother's bed. She scowled down at him in the darkness of the bedroom, wishing she could throw open the curtains and stream light into his eyes to wake him up. Instead she opted for shaking his shoulder roughly.

"Jeremy!" she shouted angrily.

"Not so loud," Damon complained again, from the doorway.

She ignored him and shook her grumbling brother's shoulder. "Jeremy!" she shouted again.

He moaned intelligibly and grunted something, but his eyes pulled apart. "Elena?" he asked. "What?"

Elena glared down at him. "Don't you dare ask me what! You know what! I heard all about you and Damon and your bar fight last night! What were you thinking? You'll be lucky if they don't press charges!"

"They're not going to press charges," Jeremy muttered. "We took care of it."

"You mean you compelled them," Elena reiterated, irritated. "That only goes so far, Jeremy! Everyone saw you. Caroline told me all about it this morning when I got to school. You have to be careful! You could have killed them. I heard they had to go to the emergency room!"

"They'll be fine," Jeremy groaned. "Ugh, I'm hungry."

As if he'd been waiting for those words, a water bottle full of blood went sailing through the air and landed beside Jeremy on the bed. Elena looked back at the doorway at Damon, who offered a cocky smile, then winced and rubbed his head. She looked back down at Jeremy, who eagerly began downing the contents from the bottle.

"Where's Stefan?" Damon asked, out of nowhere.

Elena frowned back at him. "Mr. Saltzman wanted to talk to him." She looked back at Jeremy. "Jeremy, you have to be careful. Jenna is going to figure out something is going on."

"Ric?" Damon repeated.

Elena scowled. "Yes," she confirmed, frowning. "Why?"

Damon looked unhappy. "Why did he want to talk to Stefan?" he asked.

"I don't know. He didn't say. He just asked to talk to him. Stefan'll tell us later." She narrowed her eyes at Damon. "What were _you_ thinking, letting Jeremy get into a bar fight?"

Damon put a mocking hand to his chest. "Me?" he repeated. "I looked up and he was in a fight of three against one. It was my civic duty to join in and help even the odds."

Elena scowled at him. "You're vampires!" she objected angrily. "You could have killed them!"

He flashed a grin. "It's one of the many perks."

She turned back to Jeremy, sighing. "No more fights, Jer. Jenna is already mad that you aren't coming home."

Jeremy just waved a hand at her and drank from his bottle.

Elena reluctantly stood and turned back to Damon. "What about getting him a ring?" she asked.

"I'm meeting with someone tomorrow about it." He gave a wicked grin. "Want to come?"

"I have school."

"So skip it. Your brother is in need of a ring so he doesn't burst into ashes when he walks into the sunlight."

Elena stared at him, narrowing her eyes. "That was cruel, Damon."

His mocking smile fell a little, contrite, but before she could blink, his hands pressed together palm-to-palm. "Does that mean that you'll come? Let me make it up to you?" He flashed a wicked grin. "I'll show you a good time."

She eyed him warily. "Somehow, I don't think you and I have the same idea of a good time, Damon." She held up a hand as he began to protest. "I'll go. But only to make sure that you actually get him a ring and don't end up in some other country with some showgirl."

He was on her so quickly she breathed in and he occupied the space she had vacated. Startled, she looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat as she locked eyes with the deep blue ones. "Would you be jealous if I did?" he asked, a smirk curling up his pretty, perfect lips.

She expected to protest loudly and growl his name in annoyance, shoving him away from her. But, staring up into his blue eyes, breathing in his air and his strong, sexy cologne, she couldn't. Her jaw fell, working for an answer that was as stuck as her breath.

"Elena?"

Who was…? Oh god, Stefan!

She quickly broke away from Damon, gasping to catch her ragged breath as she darted out of the room. "Up here, Stefan," she called down to him, trying to calm her pounding heart. He would be able to hear it, and he would want to know what was wrong, and how could she tell him that being close to his brother—who he was already worried she had feelings for—had made her heart skip into triple overtime?

Stefan was up the stairs quickly, but to her surprise, Alaric Saltzman was at his heels. She frowned at the teacher, a pit forming in her stomach. "Mr. Saltzman?" she asked warily. If he was with Stefan, it couldn't be good.

"Ric, you didn't call?" Damon asked, suddenly at her shoulder. She forced herself not to tense as his warm cologne invaded her senses and wrapped around her, angry that her knees went a little weak. This was Damon, of all… vampires. Damon, her boyfriend's older brother. She was not feeling weird about Damon. It wasn't happening. She refused to let it. "I'm offended. I thought we were the close ones."

"Cut the jokes," Alaric declared flatly. "We need to talk."

Elena looked up over her shoulder, watching Damon's taunting smirk die instantly. He stepped past her into the hallway as if she wasn't even there. Bewildered, and more concerned than ever, she looked up at Stefan, who approached as the other two headed down the stairs together.

"What's going on?" she asked Stefan, frowning.

He looked troubled. "There was some trouble last night," he told her, and from his voice, she could tell he was trying to brace her for bad news. "Two women were found murdered." He hesitated and met her eyes. "They're calling it an animal attack."

Elena felt the blood drain from her face. "But… there are other vampires in town, right? It could have been—"

"Most of them were killed in the fire," Stefan interrupted quietly. "But it could have been one of the ones that got away." He took her hands, his expression strong and tender. "We just want to make sure."

"But Jeremy and Damon wouldn't—" Elena tried, frowning.

"They were drunk. They got into a bar fight. They almost killed a few men and probably would have if they weren't thrown out. We don't know what they would or wouldn't do." Stefan glared down the stairs as if he could see his brother and stake him with his eyes. "Nowadays I don't know anything about Damon anymore."

Elena shook her head vehemently. "No. You're wrong. You're wrong about Damon and about Jeremy. They wouldn't just kill a couple of girls. They're… They're not that sloppy, Stefan!"

"Alaric is just checking," Stefan soothed her gently, rubbing her arms comfortingly.

"Well he's wrong," Elena insisted. "That's my brother he's talking about. And Damon isn't the monster everyone thinks he is. Just because he does some horrible things doesn't mean he's going to go around killing people—and even if he did, he wouldn't be stupid enough to leave the bodies laying around for anyone to find!"

Stefan eyed her. "You really seem to understand him," he declared quietly. "I… never really could."

She frowned at his tone, already knowing where the conversation was headed. "Damon isn't a bad person," she pointed out, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But that doesn't mean I want to be with him. I chose you, Stefan."

He offered a weak smile. "I know. And I'm grateful every day."

She nodded, relieved, and stepped away. "But that's still my brother Alaric is talking about." She headed down the stairwell, Stefan at her heels.

As they entered the living room, they heard Damon seethe, "And I certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to leave the bodies laying around for some idiot to find."

Elena felt a surge of triumph go through her. Those had been almost her exact words. She knew Damon and Jeremy hadn't done it. She knew it! Damon had been hunting with Jeremy just yesterday. He would never let her brother around people if he thought Jeremy was a danger to them. Damon wasn't heartless like people thought he was.

She turned to give Stefan a smug smile, feeling it die when she found his eyes on her, almost… heartbroken. Startled, she straightened, but he headed into the room. "So I take it Damon and Jeremy are innocent?" Stefan asked, sounding strangely tired.

Elena frowned after him, but she followed, watching Damon and Alaric fall away from each other.

"It would appear not," Alaric agreed dryly, brushing off his shirt. "I just asked, Damon."

"Well next time go accuse someone else of being stupid," Damon retorted, sounding annoyed. "Whoever did this did it because they were either trying to draw attention to the vampires in this town, which my diet of stolen hospital blood—which is _oh_ so tasty, by the way—clearly is not intended for, and my brother's scavenging in the woods for little woodland critters is pathetically obviously not designed to do, or they did it because they're a new vampire. And the only new vampire we know about was practically handcuffed to my side all night, so I know for a fact that it wasn't him." He turned to them in irritation. "God, why is it that someone gets their throats ripped out and suddenly everyone looks right at me? Do you know how long it's been since I had a decent kill? I mean, really?"

"I didn't," Elena pointed out quietly, meeting his eyes. When his anger seemed to hesitate, she went on. "When my… When Uncle John was murdered. I didn't assume it was you at all."

He gave her a look of gratitude that disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. "Well there's one," he snapped to Alaric and Stefan, who stared back at him.

"Damon, we were just asking," Alaric reassured him.

"And after I warned you about the vampire attack at the Founder's Day Celebration," Damon sighed at him. He shook his head. "I really thought we were closer than that, Ric."

Alaric stared at him blankly. "You tried to kill me."

"Ancient history." Damon waved a hand and wrapped an arm around his neck. "You're like an Etch-a-Sketch. No matter how many times I ruin you, I can just shake you and you come back. We've got the perfect bromance."

Alaric eyed him. "You ever use that word with me again and I'll stake you myself."

"So there's another vampire in town?" Elena asked, frowning at them.

Damon released Alaric, who sighed. "That's the only explanation, other than Damon went to the dark side."

"Thank you," Damon mocked, eyeing him. He turned and went to the table, pouring himself a drink.

"Damon, you and Jeremy did have a lot to drink last night," Stefan hedged slowly.

It was the wrong thing to say. Elena felt the crackle of electricity in the air even before Damon turned and glared back at his brother. She was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of that cold look, which felt like it would reduce Stefan to ashes in just seconds, and possibly take her with it just for being in Damon's peripheral.

"Stefan," Elena objected gently, taking his arm before he and Damon had a chance to get into it. "He and Jeremy didn't do it." She looked up at Alaric and Damon, who turned back to pouring his drink, his entire body tense. "So what do we do?"

Alaric let out a sigh. "Until we find out who it is, it's not safe to be alone. It could be anybody."

"Well that's not a scary thought," Elena murmured.

"Oh, don't worry, Elena," Damon reassured her loudly, talking over Stefan as he started to comfort her. They all paused and looked up at him as he began drinking from his glass, his eyebrows darting up suggestively at her. "You're probably the safest girl in Mystic Falls. With three vampires and a…" He looked over at Alaric. "Do you still consider yourself a vampire hunter?"

Alaric looked back at him. "I'm a Damon-hunter."

Damon looked back at Elena. "And a Damon-hunter protecting you, you've got nothing to worry about."

When he grinned, Elena wasn't so sure that was true.

* * *

"Damon," Elena moaned. "We've been driving for almost two hours. Where are we meeting this… seller?"

"Seller?" Damon repeated, scoffing amusedly at her. "Who said anything about a seller?"

Elena felt her heart fall into her stomach. "Damon," she warned, her anger growing. "You do have someone to get Jeremy a ring from… don't you?"

"Of course I do." He looked over at her. "What, now you think I'm a liar, too?"

"I never said that," she objected, scowling. "But you said—"

"I said I never said anything about a seller." He eyed her. "Lighten up, Elena."

"I'm light," she returned evenly, looking over at him. "And I'll be even lighter when my brother isn't cooped up in your house during sunlight hours."

He made a face at her. "You know what you need?" he asked. She gasped as the car suddenly pulled off the road, crying out in terror as the low-riding sports car suddenly felt like it would flip.

"Not to die?" she cried.

"To relax," he corrected. She stared in disbelief as he pulled into the parking lot of the state's theme park.

"Damon, what—"

He pulled into a parking spot and put the car into park. "Now don't make me drag you," he requested. "I don't like all the funny looks." He paused thoughtfully. "I could compel you…"

"You said we were getting Jeremy a ring!" she burst out furiously, angry at herself for trusting him.

He regarded her calmly. "I also said you needed to relax. Now. Should I yank that pretty little necklace off of your neck and compel you out of the car, or will you come willingly?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not going," she declared angrily. "Go yourself. Or take one of those women you pick up in the bar out on a date. I'm not going, Damon. You lied to me!"

She felt a snappy retort start to come out of him, but to her surprise, it didn't come. Slowly, she looked back at him, seeing him gaze at her seriously. "Elena, I didn't lie to you. I'm getting your brother a ring. But you also need to relax."

She tried to fight it, but gazing into his deep blue eyes melted her heart. She felt some of her anger give way. He seemed to know it, too, because he suddenly flashed a grin and climbed out of the car. In a flash he was at her door, opening it and bowing gentlemanly to gesture her out. "My lady."

She rolled her eyes, but it was almost cute. Reluctantly, she climbed out of the car. "One hour," she relented, pointing a finger at his chest. "Just one. And then we go get Jeremy's ring."

He made a face. "One hour is a line for a ride." He shut the door behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Elena. Live a little!"

"I did live. If you want to continue doing the same, you'll get my brother his ring!"

"So violent." He tugged her to the gates.

Despite her protests, she couldn't resist admitting that by the third rollercoaster she was having a good time. A great time, even. Damon was surprisingly good company, and he was actually quite a gentleman.

Plus he bought her cotton candy.

"How do you eat that stuff?" Damon asked, wincing as she stuck a piece of the pink cotton fluff into her mouth.

She laughed. "It's good!"

He grimaced. "I remember when it was invented. It's not good. It's poison on a paper cone."

"You don't know what you're missing," she admonished. "It's like…"

"Sugar on a stick?" he supplied.

She laughed and bumped him with her side. He could easily have stood his ground, but as if he were trying to act as human as possible, he went off-step, as if she had really done him damage. It was such a silly, small thing, but she found herself strangely touched by the gesture. "It's good," she insisted. "Thank you."

He nodded his acknowledgement, his blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight. She knew she shouldn't care that Damon was having a good time, but she did. A part of her was pleased that he was having fun, and that he had dragged her to the theme park to escape everything back home, and he had done it just for her.

Guilt began to creep in, but he suddenly grabbed her hand and began tugging. "Where are we—" she started, shocked.

"Gypsy hut," he commanded, heading to the small purple tent covered with glittery suns, stars, and moons. The front part was parted, waiting for occupants, tassles hanging down in a fringe along the edges.

Elena gaped up at him. "Gypsy hut?" she asked, staring up at him. "Are you serious?"

"Yep."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it's fun, Elena. Geez, do I have to explain fun to you?" He shot her an exasperated look and ducked into the tent without letting go of her hand, pulling her in with him.

She sighed, stopping short as they stared at the old woman sitting behind the table who looked up at them. She looked around sixty, but her skin was flawless and beautiful, her dark eyes gazing at them from under a dark blue silk scarf. She wore a light, flowing dark blue robe and a dark blue cord around her waist. A dozen necklaces covered her neck, and a ring adorned each finger.

Elena stared at her in disbelief, hardly able to believe that Damon was actually going to pay money for this.

The woman's hard face suddenly broke into a smile. "You're late," she said, standing.

"I brought you poison," he offered, grabbing Elena's cotton candy stick and holding it out to her.

Elena watched, stunned, as the two suddenly embraced tightly. And then the woman closed the tent behind them and gestured them into the two seats across the small, purple-cloth covered table from her.

"It's been too long, Damon," the woman sighed, smiling fondly at him.

"You still look gorgeous," he returned, grinning devilishly at her. "There some where private we can go before I have to head out?"

She waved a hand at him. "Don't you start with me. I'm an old woman now. You might break one of my hips."

He winked at her. "I'll be gentle."

She grinned impishly. "That was never as much fun."

"You two know each other?" Elena asked, shocked at the surge of jealousy and annoyance that soured her good mood. What was she jealous about? Damon? Of all people? No… It couldn't be. Why would she be jealous about Damon? She was with Stefan. _Stefan_. Damon was just her friend. She was not jealous.

"Oh, we go way back," the woman said coyly, smiling at Damon. Damon grinned wickedly at her. She turned to her. "You must be Elena."

Elena straightened, looking from Damon back to the woman. "That's right," she agreed slowly. "You are…?"

"Razzia." She gave Elena a sympathetic look. "It is your brother who was turned?"

Elena gaped at her, then over at Damon. "You told her?" she asked, horrified. How could Damon go around telling people she didn't even know about her family? She had never felt so betrayed. How could he—

"Of course I did." Damon looked back at her with his shockingly blue eyes, his expression condescendingly patient. "Who do you think is going to give us the ring?"

Elena stared at him for only a second longer before turning back to the woman, who graced her with a small smile. "You?" she asked, astonished. "You're who we came here to meet?"

She nodded, and as if by magic, produced a large silver ring with a dark blue lapis lazuli stone set in the middle. She set it on the table between them. "For your brother," she told Elena.

Elena stared at it, feeling her heart alternately sing with relief and sink with realization that this really was real. Jeremy really was a vampire. He needed that in order to be able to go out into the sun—just like Stefan and Damon.

Jeremy was a vampire.

Damon slid his ring off and held it out to Elena. She took it, stunned. She didn't think she'd ever seen Damon take his ring off before, and for him to hand it to her… The old woman seemed just as shocked as she was, looking from Damon to Elena and back again. Elena watched as Damon picked the ring up off of the table without letting his eyes leave the woman's and leaned back, reaching through the closed curtains and into the sunlight with one hand.

He swore under his breath and yanked his hand back in, his light blue eyes darkening in fury as he glared at the woman across the table. Elena felt her heart sink as he yanked his ring back from her and slid it back on, slamming the other ring back on the table between them.

"Razzia—" he started menacingly, standing.

"It was Katherine!" Razzia cried, her eyes wide with terror. Elena felt her heart skip, and even Damon paused, looking caught off-guard. "Katherine threatened to kill me if I gave you a ring for her brother."

Elena's head spun. Katherine had threatened to kill this woman Elena had never met if she provided Jeremy with a ring? But why? What was she trying to do? "How does Katherine know about Jeremy?" Elena asked the woman, suddenly chilled despite the temperature spike in the small tent.

The woman looked fearfully between her and Damon. "She knows everything. She has people… everywhere." Her eyes fell to Damon. "She's not happy, Damon. She doesn't want you and Stefan close to this girl. You know what she's capable of. No one is safe."

Elena slowly looked up at Damon. A million emotions flickered across his face, finally settling into cold fury. "She hid for 150 years," he returned darkly. "Now is a little late for her to try and have a say about our lives." He sat back down. "And you can tell her that when you see her."

The old woman looked shaken, but some color returned to her face. "You're not going to kill me?" she asked, sounding stunned.

He scowled at her. "I'd love to show you just how much your ass has fallen since the last time I saw you. But I need you to make that ring."

She looked stricken. "I can't…"

"You will." He leaned forward and glared at her over the table. "Now."

* * *

"Elena," Stefan greeted, leaning down to kiss her lightly. "How are you feeling?"

Katherine Pierce forced herself to smile tightly. "I'm dealing," she admitted. She let out a sigh. "Thanks for coming, Stefan. Being around you… It makes me feel better."

He covered her hand with his on the table. Katherine tried not to be annoyed that Stefan had never been so demonstrative with her as she smiled weakly up at him in Elena's smile. "You're being amazing through this," Stefan told her quietly. "I don't know how you can continue to look at Damon after everything he's done."

Katherine quickly thought back to what she had overheard Elena say. "It's not Damon's fault," she objected. "He thought he was helping Jeremy. It just didn't work."

A flash of anger went through Stefan's eyes. Katherine felt her jealousy spike and tried not to splinter the table under them in her anger and give away her identity. "He's lucky that you care so much about him," he said softly. "Damon hasn't had anyone understand him in a long time. He hasn't opened up since Katherine."

She was pleased to hear that, even though she knew it already. She met his eyes in Elena's half-pleading, half-strong style. "He just needs someone to be his friend," she insisted. "He's doing a great job looking after Jer."

Stefan sighed and lightly squeezed her hand, so softly she almost couldn't feel it, but she knew Elena would have felt it as a tight grip and tried to contract her hand accordingly. He leaned back in his chair. "What do you want to do today?" he asked her, sounding tired and defeated.

Katherine felt her anger grow. Elena had her younger Salvatore lover tied up in knots. That damn human… When Katherine was done with her, Elena would beg for death. "I don't know," Katherine replied, keeping her tone light. She deliberately reached for her phone, the replica of Elena's that she had purchased, and began to go through it. "I thought maybe we could—"

In a practiced move that she knew looked completely natural, she dropped the phone on the ground, letting out a gasp of surprise. She jumped down from the chair even as Stefan reached down for the phone, deliberately crushing the phone under her heel with her incredible strength. She tried not to smile in satisfaction when she felt it destroyed under her boot, diving to her knees to gather up the pieces.

"Oh no!" she cried, throwing her voice into horror.

"Oh, oh no," Stefan fretted, troubled. "Oh… I… I don't think that's… fixable…"

She held up the crushed piece of metal and plastic and let out a deliberate cry. "Jenna's going to be so mad at me," she moaned, naming Elena's aunt. "I need to replace this before she finds out."

"Sure," Stefan agreed immediately. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Katherine smiled up at him, her gratitude almost genuine. "Yeah—thank you, Stefan."

* * *

They'd been driving in silence, a heavy thickness in the air between them, for almost an hour when Elena decided she couldn't take it anymore.

"Did you know?" she finally asked, turning to Damon hesitantly. He didn't look back at her, but she sensed him waiting for her to continue. "Did you know that Katherine was… following you? You and Stefan?"

He half-glanced at her, which was as much confirmation as she needed. "Damon!" Elena hissed angrily. "If you knew, why didn't you say something? She could be the vampire in town! The one who killed the two girls!"

He shot her an annoyed look. "Don't be ridiculous," he snapped. "Katherine wouldn't want to start a hunt for vampires anymore than Stefan and I do. She was almost caught in the last one, remember?" He scowled and faced the road again. "Besides. If she were in town, I would know."

"How?" Elena demanded. "How would you know? She looks just like me, right? What if you thought she was me and she pretended to be me and just waved at you from across the street? You would have no idea."

"The unbeating heart might give it away," he retorted flatly, glaring at her in old-Damon style. "Katherine isn't in Mystic Falls. If she was…"

When he didn't finish, she pressed him. "What?" she asked. "What, Damon? You two would pick up where you left off? Run away together and live for eternity ripping people's throats out? _What_?"

She wasn't sure who was more surprised by her outburst—her or him. The car suddenly felt too hot and she wanted to reach out and turn on the air conditioning. Her heart hammered so hard against her ribs she was sure his sensitive ears could hear it. She felt strangely flushed and accusing, and yet it made no sense for her to feel that way. She had no right to be upset if Damon decided to run away with Katherine. Wasn't that why she had befriended him in the first place? To help him get into the tomb and get her out until they had discovered she wasn't in there?

But the idea of Mystic Falls without Damon seemed so… empty. So boring. She couldn't imagine calling Stefan and not having Damon answer the phone instead and talking to her for half an hour until she realized she was late for whatever she had been planning on doing. She couldn't imagine going to a festival or a town event and not having Damon there to taunt her in some way that would undoubtedly irritate her and at the same time be somehow sweet when she thought about it later.

She didn't want to think about her life without Damon in it.

And besides that… Katherine was a ruthless killer!

Damon faced the road again, his expression uncharacteristically grim and serious. "I'd toss her out into the sun without her necklace."

She had no right to be relieved. She had no right to be happy. Her heart had no right to sing. Her shoulders had no right to relax. It was Damon's life—Damon was allowed to do whatever he wanted with it.

And yet at his words, all she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and hug him.

She slowly looked down at the ring in her hand that would allow Jeremy the freedom to walk around in the sunlight, then back up at Damon. "You made me think you were taking me to the park for fun," she started slowly, watching his eyes flicker over to her, "but you were actually there for that woman the whole time, weren't you?"

He offered a cavalier grin that didn't touch his eyes. "It was fun, though, wasn't it?"

She looked back down at the ring. "Thank you, Damon." When she looked back up at him, the smile was gone and his eyes were carefully fastened back on the road. "Thank you for taking me and getting my mind off of everything for a little while."

He offered a light scoff. "You and my brother like to brood," he retorted. "I'm trying to break you out of his pattern."

She reached over and squeezed his hand, knowing Damon would never be able to accept her appreciation verbally. His light expression died quickly to a serious one as he glanced back at her. "Thank you," she said again.

He nodded slightly, looking almost pained. She released his hand and held onto the ring. She knew if the woman hadn't been afraid of Damon, Jeremy never would have gotten it. She was lucky Damon was willing to look out for Jeremy.

And, as she thought of the cotton candy and roller coasters he had taken her on before finally taking her to the woman who had eventually made Jeremy's ring, she couldn't help but think that she was pretty lucky he was looking out for her, too.

* * *

Katherine giggled as she plugged "Elena's" new cell phone number into Stefan's phone. She looked up and darted a quick look around, making sure Stefan was still at the coffee stand before quickly blocking Elena and Damon's cell phone numbers just like the man at the cell phone store had shown her how to do.

Now, she thought triumphantly, Stefan was all hers.

* * *

"He has a ring, now, Damon, thanks to you," Elena reminded, shifting the phone as she straightened out her black dress and surveyed her image in the mirror. She let out a sigh, deciding that she looked good enough for a funeral, and walked back into her bedroom. "Could you at least try to convince him to come? It's… important. Jenna needs him." She hesitated, thinking of their uncle—her father—sitting sprawled out on the kitchen floor. "And so do I."

Damon was silent on the other end of the phone. And then he let out a dramatic sigh. "I'll see what I can do. See if I can't get him to make an appearance with me."

Elena straightened, startled. "You're coming?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat.

"Of course. With you and my wimpy brother crying all over each other, you'll be useless. Jenna's still numbed out, so Ric'll have his hands full trying to take care of her and make sure she stands where she needs to. That leaves moi to make sure that things get done." He let out a sound of irritation. "Besides. The founding families are all going, and you know they'll expect me to be there. John was part of the inner circle." She could almost hear the smirk on his face. "Until he knocked out Liz. I think she's still pissed at him about that one. Some things even death can't conquer."

"Liz…" Elena repeated slowly, then straightened. "You mean Sheriff Forbes? Caroline's mom?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" She could hear him through the phone, getting dressed, the soft fabric of shirt rustling in the speaker. "I guess she didn't want him to use Jonathan Gilbert's device on the day of the celebration and so he 'convinced' her by knocking her out."

Elena felt her anger at her uncle surge up around her. "And because of it killed a lot of people—and almost killed you."

There was a hesitation on the phone. She could feel him lift it from his shoulder, but he said nothing.

Elena paused, frowning, picking her phone up off of her shoulder as she finished putting on her left shoe. "Damon?" she asked warily. Was he mad at Bonnie for him almost dying? Was he going to seek revenge? He couldn't… Bonnie would kill him. And Elena still cared about Bonnie… even if she didn't think she could deal with her for a while.

Damon suddenly plunged on. "Yep, but luckily for me, the witch did have a few party tricks. So Stefan is picking you up?"

Something was wrong. She could hear it in his voice. She held the phone tighter, as if that would somehow help her pick out what was wrong with his tone. "Damon?" she asked again. "Do you—"

"Elena? Stefan's here! Are you ready?"

Elena swore softly, startling herself. On the other end of the phone was more silence, but she could hear the catch in Damon's non-breath, as stunned as she was at her annoyance at being interrupted.

"I'll be right down!" she called, trying to cover the mouth piece of her phone.

"Yeah, doesn't really help," she heard a half-pained, half-teasing voice say in her ear.

"What doesn't?" she asked, uncovering the mouth piece.

"Covering the mouth piece. You've got vampire hearing on the other end. Designed to pick up teeny tiny sounds. And amplifies the loud shout you just did from right beside my ear."

"Sorry," she returned, making a face at the phone. "I'll… see you there?" And she didn't like how that sounded, saying it to him, because it sounded wrong. It sounded too intimate. Something she should only be saying to Stefan.

Stefan, who was waiting downstairs while she sat on the phone with his brother.

Guilt gnawed at her.

"Yep. With your little brother in tow. You can thank me later."

"Thank you," she said deliberately, ending her call. She shakily tossed one last look in the mirror, and then hurried down the stairs. Alaric and Stefan were talking quietly in the entryway, both wearing black suits, pausing as they saw her.

"Bad news?" she asked, her heart sinking as she finished stepping down the last of the stairs to join them.

Alaric and Stefan exchanged a look. Stefan turned to her, his face tight with concern. "There's been another attack," Stefan told her quietly. "A couple, right in the middle of the road. Their throats were torn out."

Elena stared at him, trying to process the news. And then she looked over at Alaric, warily noticing that both were watching her closely. "You can't possibly think…" she started, taking a step back, away from them.

"We don't know," Stefan reassured her quickly, shaking his head. "He and Jeremy are out all hours of the night, if either of them lost control, even for a moment…"

She couldn't believe they were even considering this possibility—again. "He's teaching Jeremy how to hunt, Stefan!" she objected, trying to keep her voice low. It was hard with the anger coursing through her. "He's trying to teach Jeremy how to survive on his own. He feels responsible for… what happened."

"I know," Stefan soothed, rubbing her arms. She forced down her annoyance, reminding herself that Stefan was just angry on her behalf anyway, and leaned into him as he pulled her into his arms. "We need to find whoever is responsible," he said to Alaric.

"I'm out every night," Alaric said back, his voice low to avoid being overheard. "But whoever it is isn't coming after me."

"Which could mean that they know you're ready for them," Stefan pointed out quietly.

Elena felt her anger surge again and pulled away from him. "I should get Jenna. We're going to be late." She turned and walked into the living room, where her aunt was sitting in the darkened room, staring at the wall. Her heart ached at the sight. "Jenna?" she asked softly, approaching the couch.

Her aunt looked up numbly. "Elena," she greeted, subdued.

Elena stood beside her. "It's time to go. Are you ready?" When Jenna stared back at her blankly, Elena had to force down her tears. "Uncle John's funeral."

Jenna nodded slowly and rose from the couch. Wordlessly, Elena led her out of the living room, grateful when Alaric took over, wrapping an arm around Jenna's waist and leading her to his waiting car.

"I've never seen her like this," Elena told Stefan quietly, trying to hold back her sobs. "Not even when my parents died. She just looks so… broken."

"She'll make it." Stefan reassured her gently, squeezing her hand. He led her out of the house, to his car.

"She wasn't even close to him," Elena murmured, staring at the back of Alaric's car, and Jenna's head through the back window. "But she's so… destroyed by this."

"Maybe that's why," Stefan suggested thoughtfully, from the driver's seat. "Maybe because she wasn't close to John, and she didn't like him, she feels the guilt that much… heavier."

Elena sighed. "Maybe," she agreed, gazing out the passenger window.

It was a short ride to the cemetery. Elena tried not to be overwhelmed by the amount of people already gathered, forcing down her uneasiness as she quickly scanned the crowd for any sign of Jeremy and Damon.

"Elena!"

She turned at her name, letting out a sigh when she felt two small, thin arms wrap tightly around her. "Caroline," she greeted, sighing. "You shouldn't be here. How are you feeling?"

"Of course I'm here," Caroline admonished, stepping back to reveal herself in a pretty black jersey dress. "You're my best friend. What kind of friend would I be if I weren't here for you? And I'm fine." She swung a bit to her right to indicate Matt. "Matt's taking excellent care of me."

"Matt," Elena greeted, relieved. She gave him a tight hug. "Thank you for coming."

"Wouldn't miss it." He hugged her back with his familiar embrace, stepping back to smile in concern down at her. "How are you holding up?"

"We're dealing," Elena admitted. "Jenna's taking this pretty hard."

"What, no hug for me?"

They all turned, Elena's heart skipping a beat at the sight of the tall, dark haired, pale, bright blue-eyed man standing with her brother. Both were wearing black suits, looking handsome and dashing.

Elena gave Damon a patient smile, trying to hide her relief and gratitude at the sight of him even as she turned and hugged her brother, who looked uncomfortable and uneasy in the crowd. "Jer," she sighed. "I'm glad you're here. Jenna will be, too."

"Damon said you said she's been acting weird."

Elena tried not to notice Stefan stiffen or that Jeremy hadn't hugged her back as she pulled away from her brother, who wouldn't meet her eyes. "She's taking Uncle John's death—"

"Don't you mean your father's?" Jeremy interrupted flatly, looking at her through blank, almost unfeeling eyes.

There was a silence throughout the group as Elena stared at her brother in horrified betrayal.

And then Damon's hand cracked on the back of Jeremy's head with a loud slap. "What did I tell you?" Damon demanded, in his mock-patient tone. "If you can't keep secrets, we won't tell them to you. And then you'll miss out on all the fun stuff."

Jeremy eyed him in annoyance, rubbing a hand on the back of his head where he'd been hit. "I just don't see the point in lying," Jeremy muttered. "It's not like she's not going to tell everyone eventually. Might as well get it out in the open now."

"Well that's her choice to tell, not yours." Damon wrapped an arm around Jeremy's neck and addressed the group, his eyes settling on Elena's. "Excuse us while we go make nice." As he pulled Jeremy away, Elena heard him say in his exaggerated patient tone, "Nice is when you say things that won't make people mad. I know it's not as exciting as pissing people off, but…"

Elena stared after them for a minute, slowly looked back at Caroline and Matt's stunned faces, and then, deciding she couldn't deal with it, tossed out a quick apology and chased after her brother and Damon.

"Jeremy, wait!" she called.

Damon swung the two back around. Jeremy looked miserable, as if he'd just been thoroughly scolded, and Damon expressive face was masked with pleasantness, but she could see the sorrow and regret just under the surface.

"You're right," Elena told her brother's bowed head, watching him look up through his lashes. "I would have told them eventually. I just… would have liked to do it. On my own time." She crossed the few feet between them, studying her brother, and then looking up at Damon before looking back at Jeremy. "What's going on with you? Are you okay?"

Jeremy suddenly looked up at her with a glare. "Damon dragged me here against my will. I'm locked up in that house unless Damon lets me out. I am hungry _all_ the time. I have more rules now than I did when I lived at Jenna's, and I could snap almost all of the people here in half. Would you be okay if you were me, Elena?"

Elena looked between Jeremy and Damon, alarmed at the change that had come over her brother and at the wave of hostility and fury she could feel emanating from him. Damon's bright blue eyes were serious, his face set, confirming Jeremy's words. She felt a little disappointed that Damon hadn't shared all of that with her, but she knew he had kept it to himself to protect her and not worry her, and though she was annoyed that had kept it from her, she was also a little grateful that he was trying to look out for her. "Jer," she started slowly, looking back at her brother. "Damon is trying to protect you. And this town. Until you can control yourself—"

"I can control myself just fine," Jeremy hissed furiously.

Damon gave him a little shake. At least, it looked like a little shake, but it was clearly hard enough to subdue Jeremy, who winced and looked back up at him, irritated. "You're doing a great job of demonstrating that," Damon agreed conversationally. "Now, should we go practice in front of the founding families before I take you to see your aunt?"

"I just want to go home," Jeremy muttered.

"After the funeral, emo boy. If you're really good, I'll take you hunting."

"There's a party," Elena objected quickly, pleadingly. She looked from Jeremy to Damon. "At the house. Just a little get together. I think the founding families will all be there. Right after the ceremony."

"I'm not going," Jeremy declared, looking away.

"Jer, please," Elena begged, trying to reason with her brother. "Jenna really needs us right now. She's… she's a mess, Jer. She doesn't even seem to know where she is half the time. I…" She hated spilling Jenna's secrets, but she had to make Jeremy understand. "I had to dress her this morning. She just lies in bed all the time. And I can't," oh god, she was crying, "I can't do this by myself." She reached out and took his hand pleadingly, meeting the dark brown eyes that met hers. "Jeremy, please. We're all each other have left, now."

Jeremy stepped forward, and to her relief, wrapped his arms tightly around her. She let out a sob, burying her face in her brother's chest. As she lifted her head to rest her cheek on her brother's shoulder, she caught sight of Damon standing there, staring at her with so much compassion and genuine tenderness on his face that she would have been blind to miss it.

She felt her heart ache in gratitude.

_Thank you_, she mouthed to him, hugging Jeremy tighter.

He inclined his head in acknowledgement, his eyes falling closed before he looked away.

* * *

Elena tossed the makeup wipe into the trashcan and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked tired. Her skin looked dulled without foundation to give it some luster. The dark circles under her eyes were especially noticeable without concealer. She looked, in a word, horrible.

She sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, grateful that the long day was over. Jeremy had reluctantly agreed to stay the night in his room, which Damon had been against, but after showing him the cooler of blood she had set up in his closet, he had reluctantly agreed. Jenna wouldn't be going through Jeremy's room anytime soon, anyway. She had spent the entire party sitting on the couch with Alaric, looking like a zombie. He had been the one accepting people's condolences for her—Elena made a mental note to thank him tomorrow at school.

As she stepped into her bedroom she gasped, staggering backwards and clutching her racing heart. Damon lay on her bed, his feet crossed at his ankles, his hands behind his head, looking obnoxiously comfortable and at home.

"Damon," she hissed, quickly hurrying to her bedroom door to shut it before turning back to her. Guiltily, she couldn't help being embarrassed that she had just finished taking off her makeup. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you could use a roommate." He settled more into her bed. "This bed is big enough for two, don't you think?" He shot her a wicked grin.

Her heart skipped but she tried to force it down. "I do not," she declared. "If anyone would be sharing it with me, it would be my boyfriend. Stefan. You know, your brother?"

"Oh, don't remind me," Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He's not as much fun as me, I promise you that." He winked deliberately at her. "C'mon, I promise not to invade your side too much. But if you roll onto mine in your sleep, all bets are off."

She studied him as she crossed to the bed, sitting cross-legged on the free side of the bed and facing him. He shifted to look up at her, still grinning. "You're worried, aren't you?" she asked, watching his lighthearted expression fall. "Jeremy?"

He eyed her, smiling impishly. "Or maybe it's just an excuse to get into your bed. What do you think?"

"Is he dangerous?" she asked quietly, choosing to ignore the flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

His expression turned suddenly serious. "He's a vampire, Elena. Of course he's dangerous."

"You know what I mean, Damon." She lowered her eyes to her bedspread, running her fingers over the stitching. It was in a wide swirling pattern that she had never really understood. Why did a comforter need stitches on it? "Are Jenna and I not safe with Jeremy in the house?" She lifted her eyes to his bright blue ones, smoldering in the dim light of her room. "Why didn't you tell me you were keeping him under lock and key?"

"You have enough to worry about," Damon replied quietly, confirming what she already knew. "He's emotional. He was emotional when he was alive, so being a vampire has just amplified what he was. He's more of himself than he was before."

Elena didn't know if she wanted the truth or a lie when she asked, "Will he be okay?"

"Well, he's dead," Damon offered.

She stared at him, half-tempted to hit him, and half-tempted to laugh. When his blue eyes lit slightly, she couldn't resist laughing, giving up and falling down beside him against the pillows, mirroring his position on the bed. It was strange how companionable she felt with Damon—how comfortable it was to be with him like this.

"He'll be fine, Elena," Damon reassured her, his tone as light as if he were dismissing a known fact. "He just needs some time to adjust and some training. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. You look like hell enough as it is."

She laughed out loud, embarrassed and indignant as she reached over and smacked him on his firm chest. He laughed and caught her hand, and though she hated to let herself think it, it was nice. Comforting. Still, she reminded herself that no matter how weak her knees felt, she had a boyfriend, who happened to be Damon's younger brother, and reluctantly detached her hand, though it seemed to want to cling to his slender, cool fingers.

"I saw you talking to Mr. Saltzman," Elena hedged.

"Ooo, tactful, Elena," Damon mocked. "No. He, unlike my brother, did not accuse me of feasting off of the young deceased couple. We're going vampire hunting tomorrow."

Elena burst out laughing. "Really?" she asked, looking over at him.

He rolled his eyes, staring at the ceiling. "I'm a regular Buffy-in-training," he agreed dryly. "Look out, WB." He paused thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll get my own TV show." He put his hands up in the air like a marquee. "Damon, the vampire hunter."

Elena laughed. "No one would watch," she teased.

He put a mocking hand to his heart and looked over at her. "Elena, I'm crushed. You wouldn't tune in each week to watch my sexy ass stake a few vamps?"

"Nope. I have better things to do."

"Anything other than dote over my brooding, melodramatic brother?"

She made a face at him. "Yes."

"This I gotta hear. What?"

"Wash my hair."

His eyes widened and then he lunged for her. Before she could stop him, he was tickling her breathless, and she was squealing, protesting.

"I'm going to get some vervain!" she threatened, through gasps for air.

"A likely threat from someone who can't even move," he returned, grinning down at her from his vantage point on top, his legs on either side of her, his hands pinning her wrists above her head.

"Only 'cause you vampires weigh a ton!" she shot back, squirming.

"I resent that! I'm quite slender," he retorted, lifting off of her to go stand in front of her mirror and primp. He ran his hands down his body, showcasing himself. "See? Look at me. I'm gorgeous."

She burst out laughing and tossed a pillow at him. "Maybe in your head."

He caught the pillow easily and came back to the bed, flopping down beside her. "Oh, trust me, Elena, I'm in the heads—and fantasies—of thousands of women," he teased boastfully, even as they both curled up on their sides, facing each other.

She rolled her eyes, trying to cover up the strange jealousy that she felt circling inside of her. "I'm sure," she agreed dryly.

He flashed a wicked grin and she couldn't resist smiling back. As she gazed into his blue eyes, she realized it was the first time she had laughed all day… Maybe even since she and Damon had gone to the theme park. She didn't have to talk everything to death with Damon. He understood that she was upset, and why she was upset, and he just handled everything, behind her back, so she didn't have to worry about it anymore. He took care of everything, so she could just relax and laugh. He didn't hide anything from her… It wasn't that he was lying to her. It was just that he was dealing with it, so she didn't have to. So she could focus on being happy.

Before she could stop herself, she covered his hand between them with hers. "Thank you, Damon," she said softly. "For everything."

The burning blue eyes were filled with an emotion that made her giddy and frightened to see. And yet, almost as if he'd known what she had been thinking before she had thanked him, he pulled his hand out from under hers and covered it with his, enclosing it. Protecting it. Covering her, just as Damon always did.

When his eyes closed in acknowledgement, it took everything in her not to lean over and kiss him.

* * *

"Elena."

Elena and Stefan turned, alarmed at the anger and agitation in Bonnie's voice as she approached in the Mystic Grill.

"Bonnie?" Elena asked, taking a step toward her. "What's wrong?"

Bonnie darted a quick look around, then said, "Your brother just asked me if I could bring someone back from the dead." She gave her a pointed look. "A dead vampire back from the dead."

Elena felt her heart fall into her stomach. "Jeremy did?" she asked, stunned. She sighed. "Bonnie, Jeremy's just reeling from Anna's death—"

"I'm not doing it, Elena," Bonnie declared darkly. "Even if I could, I wouldn't. Do you understand? I'm sorry Jeremy's upset, but there is no way I'm doing it." She cast a deliberate look at Stefan. "I'm making an exception for Stefan and Damon because they're important to you." She leveled Elena with a look. "But I still hate vampires. Let's be clear."

Elena felt her fear and terror shake her. "Bonnie, Jeremy—"

"I didn't even know he was a vampire," Bonnie told her coldly.

Elena let out a shaky breath. "He had a vial of Anna's blood… After she was staked, he drank it and overdosed on my pills. When he died in the hospital—"

"I get it." Bonnie held up her hand and stared hard at her. "But I'm not doing it, Elena. I won't."

Elena frowned at her. "I-I get it, Bonnie. I'm not asking you to."

"Are you saying it's possible?" Stefan asked, sounding stunned.

Elena looked from him to Bonnie. After a moment, Bonnie reluctantly said, "There are some texts that suggest since the vampire is already dead, it is possible… If the body hasn't been reduced to ashes already." Bonnie narrowed her eyes at them. "But I won't read more about it. I'm done with vampires."

"Okay, Bonnie, I get it!" Elena insisted, frowning.

Bonnie glared up at Stefan. "You tell your brother that if he tries to intimidate me, it's not going to work. I'll just attack back." She cast a pointed look to the pool tables. Elena followed her gaze, where Damon and Jeremy were laughing together, Jeremy lining up a shot. The sight tugged at Elena's heart, relief flooding through her at the sight of her brother happy.

And, though she struggled to fight it, it skipped a little at the sight of Damon, who she had stepped on that morning when she'd woken up. She must have fallen asleep while he'd been holding her hand, because she'd woken up in the same position, but he had gotten up, out of her bed at some point, and opted to sleep on the floor despite all of his talk. She was grateful to him for it, since she would have insisted on it if she'd been awake, and he seemed to know it. Damon just… understood her. And once he'd complained—loudly—about how heavy she was, he'd woken up Jeremy and the two had disappeared for the rest of the day.

"Did Damon threaten you?" Stefan asked, his voice sounding sharp.

Elena looked back at Bonnie, who was looking up at Stefan. "No," she told him flatly. "It's just a warning."

"I'll make sure he knows," Stefan agreed quietly.

Without another word, Bonnie brushed past them, and out of the Mystic Grill.

Elena sighed. Stefan's hand on her back anchored her to the ground as he lightly led her to a table. "Bringing vampires back from the dead," Elena mused. "I didn't think it would ever be possible."

Stefan shook his head. "It shouldn't be," he declared. "We shouldn't have been created in the first place. Bringing us back… It's insane."

Elena reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Don't say that," she admonished, smiling at him. "If you weren't a vampire, I never would have met you."

He flashed a smile. "That's true," he agreed, covering her hand with his. "I guess there was at least one benefit."

She nodded. "I just can't believe that Jeremy asked Bonnie about it." She shook her head. "Damon should have stopped him."

"Damon should do a lot of things he doesn't," Stefan pointed out flatly.

Elena squeezed his hand again. "Hey," she objected. "Let's not talk about Damon. We're here for a date tonight, right? Let's just enjoy it."

He flashed a grin. "Right. Then, can I get you a drink?"

She nodded, grinning back. "I'd love a soda."

"One soda, coming right up." He stood and leaned forward, kissing her cheek before heading away from the table, to the bar.

When he was gone, she couldn't resist looking back over her shoulder at the pool tables, where her brother and Damon were still laughing. Damon was holding a beer bottle as Jeremy lined up his shot, and almost as if he sensed her eyes, looked up at her.

Even from across the room, his eyes were astonishingly blue.

He lifted the bottle at her in a mock-toast, nodding his head at her in greeting. She smiled, a little embarrassed, and waved a little over her shoulder at him. Jeremy took his shot, distracting Damon, who said something that had been clearly sarcastic. Both burst into laughter.

Elena felt her heart go out to them, surprised that she wished she was over there with them.

She faced forward again, sighing to herself. Stefan was still at the bar, waiting for the bartender to bring him their drinks. She straightened, startled, when her phone suddenly beeped at her, and quickly pulled it from her purse, looking down at it.

_From: Damon. Message: You look gorgeous. When you get bored of my droll brother, come join the fun._

A pleased smile turned her lips up in a grin before she could resist. She licked her lips and pursed them together to force it down, quickly typing back a reply. _I'm on a date with your very exciting, very sexy brother._

A second later her phone beeped again. _It's a standing invitation, sweetheart._

She knew she should let it go at that, but she couldn't. _I'll remember that. Even though I won't need it._

Her phone beeped again. _Good._ _Now stop flirting with me, he's coming back._

She quickly slid her phone back into her purse, even as Stefan rounded the corner to their table, wearing a smile. She accepted the drink he handed her, smiling up at him.

"Thank you," she said, pleased.

"You're welcome," he said back. He gazed over her shoulder, and she didn't even have to look to ask what he was looking at.

"They're just playing pool, Stefan," she pointed out, trying to curb her annoyance.

His eyes came back to her. "It just seems like every time they come here, someone is found dead the next morning," he returned. "I just don't want to see that happen again tonight."

Elena straightened, looking back at her brother and Damon, who were still laughing. "Is that true?" she asked warily. "It's been each time they've come here?"

"Yes." She looked back at Stefan, whose face was grim. "It's a little too coincidental."

"Stefan, don't you get it?" Elena asked, her heart falling into her stomach. "Damon and Jeremy aren't _responsible_ for the attacks. They're being _blamed_ for them! Someone knows who they are and they're targeting them." She looked around the grill quickly, scanning it for anyone who seemed to be watching Damon and her brother.

Stefan hesitated. "Elena, I know you want to think that, but…"

Her phone beeped in her purse, interrupting Stefan. She reached for it, frowning. _From: Damon. Message: Told you we were vampire hunting tonight._

There was another beep. _From: Damon. Message: And would you lower your voice when talking about a vampire in front of one? It's so rude. Super-power hearing, remember?_

Elena held up the last message for Stefan to see, giving her boyfriend a pointed look. A jealous look crossed his features, but she grabbed her drink and didn't wait for a response as she headed straight back for the pool table where Damon and Jeremy were.

"Took you long enough," Damon greeted, straightening from his shot as she approached. "Ditch the brooder?" As Stefan appeared over her shoulder, Damon pursed his lips together and turned to Jeremy. "Awk-ward," he mock-declared.

"Cute, Damon," Stefan agreed flatly. "Why are you here?"

Damon wrapped an arm around Jeremy's shoulders. "Jeremy and I were just enjoying a game of pool in this fine establishment. Would you like to try, Stefan? Is there any bit of fun left in that shell of a man?" He laughed hollowly. "Oh, right. Not a man. Sorry. Figure of speech, anyway." He paused and studied Stefan. "I think I see some right… there. Oh, no, wait, that's fur." He made a face at him. "Have you been eating rabbit? What did the cute and cuddly ever do to you?"

"Damon," Elena interrupted, before Stefan could get into it with him. She watched him fall back, his eyes meeting hers. "Do you really think being here is a good idea?"

"Oh sure," Damon admonished, waving a hand at her. "You worry too much, Elena. You're spending too much time with my brother." He squeezed Jeremy's neck. "Jeremy and I have been itching for another kill, haven't we, Jer?"

Elena's heart skipped when Jeremy's eyes lit up. "Are we going to kill someone tonight?" he asked eagerly.

Damon looked back at him blankly. "You're ruining our act," he stated, lowering his voice as if they were off-stage somewhere together. "Stefan thinks we're blood-thirsty monsters, remember? You gotta roll with me on this."

"Oh, right…" Jeremy looked back up at Stefan, his eyes narrowing. "You should probably go," he suggested, baring his teeth. "Wouldn't want to stain your pretty little animal-blood loving hands with human flesh."

"Jeremy!" Elena exclaimed, horrified.

Damon winced. "You should leave _those_ comments to me," Damon told him.

"Damon—" Elena started, turning on him angrily.

"Here comes the scolding," Damon sighed, releasing Jeremy. "This is your fault. Five hundred pushups when we get home."

"I hate pushups," Jeremy muttered.

"But you're getting so good at them," Damon mock-encouraged, poking Jeremy in the cheek.

Elena wasn't sure if she was watching her brother and Damon, a comedy duo, or some big elaborate scheme to make her crazy. She turned to Jeremy. "Jer, apologize," she ordered.

Jeremy looked down at her, his eyes surprisingly cold. "No," he declared flatly.

"Jeremy," Elena said sharply. "It was rude and uncalled for. Apologize."

"No." Jeremy stared hard at her. "Where do you get off, thinking you can run my—"

He was interrupted by Damon's hand suddenly clamped over his mouth, Damon's arm back around Jeremy's neck. "This isn't part of the act," Damon said, his tone light, but with an undercurrent of anger. "Be nice to your sister."

Elena looked between the two of them in disbelief. Jeremy stepped away from Damon, shooting a dark glare at Elena before looking back up at Damon. "Would you stop taking her side for once?" he demanded. "She's dating your brother—not you. She doesn't care about you. And you don't respect your brother, so why should I have to respect my sister? I'm not a child! Stop treating me like one! Am I going to have to put up with this for eternity? Or just until I stake you myself and get it over with?" He tossed his pool cue onto the table, scattering the balls everywhere, and stormed off.

"Jeremy!" Elena protested, starting to go after him.

"I'll go," Damon said, suddenly subdued. She felt her heart ache at the serious, almost hurt look on his face. "Enjoy your date."

"Damon—" she argued, looking quickly around the bar for whoever could be watching them.

But he was already leaving, and Stefan was holding her arm, keeping her back. She let out a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around him, staring at the doorway her brother and Damon had gone through.

* * *

"Damon."

Katherine Pierce smiled as her favorite Salvatore brother looked up from his drink in surprise, doing a double-take at the sight of her.

"Elena," he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I just needed to get out of the house for a bit." She studied him. "What are you doing here?" She looked around. "Where's Jeremy?"

"With Ric. Going over line by what we did last night that _didn't_ tip off whoever is following us and framing these murders on us." Damon tossed back a shot.

Katherine placed a hand on his arm, watching his eyes fall to it, then slowly lift up to her face. She had always loved Damon's blue eyes. They were so bright blue, just like the sky. She doubted Elena could fully appreciate the beauty and expressiveness in Damon's gorgeous eyes. They gave away everything he was thinking and feeling at any given moment. Damon had always been so easy to read. Like right now—she could read just how much he wanted to grab her, as Elena, and wrap his arms around her. But Damon had always been a gentleman, and he wouldn't cross that line with a woman he cared about until he had the green light.

"You'll find out who it is," she reassured him gently, lightly squeezing his arm with the barest bit of pressure, the way a human would.

Damon looked away, his eyebrows rising in unexpressed doubt. He tossed back another shot. "Where's my brother?" he asked, looking around her.

She sat down on the stool beside him. "At home. Working on a history paper."

Damon scoffed. "He could probably write it from first-person experience."

Katherine giggled. He probably could. And she could probably help. Damon looked over at her, his eyes oddly unreadable. "Maybe," she agreed. Damon had acquired a new sense of humor since she had known him. She had to admit, she liked it. "But I don't think the teacher would believe him."

"Probably not," Damon agreed. He shifted suddenly, leaning away from her to regard her. "How's Jenna?"

She lowered her eyes in Elena's fashion. "The same. She just sits on the couch and stares at the wall." She leaned her cheek on her hand, her elbow on the bar as she gazed at the wall, using Elena's lost and frightened look. "I don't know how to help her."

Damon was silent for a moment. "Right now, taking care of yourself and Jeremy is all you can do," he said, but there was a strange tone in his voice.

She lifted her eyes, studying him sharply. He was staring at her just as closely. Alarmed, she quickly went on. "Thank you, by the way. For taking such good care of Jer. He seems to be really attached to you."

Damon suddenly threw back another shot and stood. "Do you want to see him?" he asked.

She faltered, stunned. She hadn't expected Damon to invite her back to the house. "Yeah, I'd like that," she agreed, trying to figure out how to get out of it. She reached into her purse for her phone. "Let me just call Jenna—"

"There's no need," Damon admonished, reaching for her hand and holding onto it. "Jenna's practically comatose anyway, right? She probably won't even answer the phone."

Katherine smiled weakly. "That's true, but I should still call her."

He already had her out of the bar, and headed to his car. Like a gentleman, he opened her door for her, and she slid in, trying to calm her uneasiness. Damon had suddenly switched, almost as if he—

"So where have you been all this time, Katherine?"

She looked over at him as he threw the car roughly into gear, flooring it through the street. His expression was cold and unforgiving, his eyes not on her.

She considered asking him what he was talking about, but Damon had always known her well. She cocked her head at him. "You realize I could rip your throat out right now, don't you?"

He bared his teeth in a grin as he looked over at her. "I spent 150 years trying to get you out of a tomb. I think that earns me a free pass."

Katherine settled more comfortably in his seat. "You did better than Stefan. He still thinks I'm Elena."

Damon's eyes slid to her. "How long have you been here?"

Katherine smiled pleasantly. "A few weeks."

"Long enough to kill John Gilbert?"

She laughed. "Long enough to do that." She looked over at him angrily. "And long enough for you to kiss me, thinking I was Elena."

Damon's jaw clenched as he slammed on the brakes at a red light, glaring over at her. "I knew something wasn't right," he hissed furiously. "I just never thought it would have been you." He smacked his hand against the steering wheel. "Where the hell have you been, Katherine? Why did you…"

"Leave you?" she finished, when he didn't. She sighed and looked away from the pain in his blue eyes. "I never really left you, Damon. You or Stefan. I looked after both of you, all this time. I—"

"Then why?" he asked, sounding heartbroken. "Why didn't you come see me? Why didn't you let me know you were okay? Why… Stefan…?"

She let out a sigh. "I loved both of you," she told him, placing a hand on his arm. "I still do, Damon. I wanted the three of us to be together, and all you two would do was fight. I wanted the three of us to be together for eternity."

Damon stared at her endlessly. "You wanted me to share you?" he repeated, his voice hoarse. "With my brother?"

She cupped his cheek. "I loved you both equally," she told him. "How could you choose between the sun and moon, Damon? You couldn't. Neither could I."

His eyes closed. When they reopened, they were hard. She frowned at the look, scowling when he pulled away from her. "So why are you back, Katherine? Why are you here, after all this time?"

Katherine narrowed her eyes at him. "You both weren't supposed to move on from me," she told him warningly, watching his eyes flicker. "That girl is stealing my boys."

"Elena," Damon reiterated flatly. "You're here for Elena."

Katherine smiled hopefully at him. "Don't you see, Damon? You and Stefan are getting along so much better, now! As soon as she's out of the way, the three of us can be together forever. We'll be happy, just like we were supposed to be!"

"That's your plan?" Damon asked, yanking on the wheel. She looked around as he pulled off the road and slammed on the brake, glaring over at her. "For me to share you with Stefan forever? I didn't want that, Katherine! I just wanted you! Why wasn't I enough for you?"

She patted his cheek. "You were," she reassured him. "I just wanted the best of both worlds, Damon. Didn't I deserve it? Don't I deserve the best of everything?"

Damon stared at her. And then he leaned back, away from her. "I loved you," he said quietly, facing forward. "For 150 years, I loved you. I thought of only you. I didn't think I would ever feel anything except for you."

Katherine smiled.

Damon looked over at her, his eyes empty. "And now I'm going to tell you to get out of my car and pray I never see you again."

* * *

Elena slid her phone shut as she stared in a mixture of concern, horror, and anger at the sight before her at the Mystic Grill.

After being accused by a rather frantic Jeremy that she had made Damon run away, she had set out to look for him, calling his phone repeatedly. Despite her persistent, automatic redialing, his phone just jumped straight to voice mail, indicating it was either off, or he'd blocked her phone.

She had tried calling Stefan, but his phone also jumped straight to voice mail, which worried her even more. After debating between going to their house—which Jeremy had just come from—she decided to just head out for Damon's frequent haunts to see if she could track him down herself.

And she'd tried the Mystic Grill no fewer than three times in the last five hours, and finally, finally, just as she was about to give up and go over to Stefan's and beg for help, there he was, sitting at the bar, tossing back shots, both arms around a different woman wearing almost nothing.

For a moment, anger gave way to relief, then relief shifted to jealousy, and jealousy quickly surged into fury. She strode straight for the bar, reaching for his shoulder to spin him around. "Damon!" she hissed angrily.

He turned, the girls still firmly attached to him, giggling coyly and cuddling up to him as they fawned disgustingly all over him. He was beyond drunk, laughing as they trailed their fingers all over his chest.

At the sight of her, his smile died, stunning her. "Go away, Kalena," he ordered, turning back to the bar.

She gaped at his turned back. "What did you call me?" she demanded, scowling.

"Kalena. It's my new name for you. Whoever you are."

Elena wasn't sure if she wanted to punch him or shake him. "Damon, what are you… Get off of him!" she shouted at the girls, who were both whispering coquettishly into his ears. She strode forward and yanked the girl to his right away, glaring at the buxom blond who shot her a dirty look.

"Hey, Natasha, don't go—" Damon protested.

"Bye, gorgeous," the girl said, then held her fist up, extending her pinky and thumb. "Call me."

"You know I will," he assured her, winking at her and toasting his shot glass at her before tossing it back.

Elena couldn't believe what she was seeing. Something had happened, that was the only reasonable explanation for Damon's sudden behavior, but what could have possibly happened to make him act like this… She didn't have the faintest idea. "Damon," she said insistently, lowering her voice.

He ignored her, turning his back to her as he curled up to the girl still on his left, who wrapped both of her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down to hers.

And there, in front of Elena, Damon kissed her passionately, hungrily, their mouths dueling fiercely as if a fire had been created between the two of them that could never be extinguished.

Elena felt her heart slam into her stomach, suddenly clinging onto the counter for support.

She had spent the last five hours looking for him for this? To find him here, making out with some random girl? To find him drunk off his ass? To find him an intoxicated mess? She had dismissed her missing brother, called Damon for five hours straight, and this was the greeting she got? To get to watch him make out with some skank? After everything she'd been through? After everything they had shared—together?

She shoved away from the counter and turned to stalk away, furious with herself for getting tangled up in Damon's life in the first place. She should have known better than to trust someone like him. She should never have allowed herself to feel anything for him in the first place!

She faltered in her step, stunned at her thought. Had she just… no… No, she couldn't have just… But, even as she slowly looked back over her shoulder, at Damon wrapped in the strange brunette's embrace, she suddenly saw his face gazing back at her from across her pillow, his face so serious and his blue eyes so bright, and realized that she had just thought that.

About her boyfriend's brother.

Elena turned and all-but ran out of the bar.

* * *

Elena looked up as she heard the footsteps approach, watching Damon's blue eyes fill with astonishment, fury, and then wariness as he stared down at her.

She had tried to leave the Mystic Grill earlier—she _had_—but she had seen his car parked outside on the street, and had spent the last hour trying to convince herself that sitting on the curb and leaning against his passenger side door to wait for him was a bad idea.

But she couldn't stop thinking about what he had called her… Kalena? What was that? Some bastardization of Katherine and Elena? Why? Hadn't they just been together two nights earlier in her bedroom, lying in her bed, laughing together? Hadn't they just been exchanging—and she flushed just admitting it to herself—flirty text messages the night before? What had changed in the last twenty-four hours?

What had happened to Damon?

She stood slowly, brushing herself off even as he finished closing the distance between them, his face guarded and uneasy as he looked down at her from a foot away. It was strange, but Damon almost looked… suspicious.

"Where's the brunette?" Elena asked, shocked at the biting words that fell from her lips. It hadn't been what she had wanted to ask. She wanted to ask if he was okay. She wanted to ask what was wrong. Instead she sounded… catty. Cold. Jealous. It rolled off of her in waves.

He leaned back and regarded her, his blue eyes narrowing. "Jealous you didn't get a taste?" he asked, almost sneering.

She reeled back, stunned. "A taste?" she repeated, astonished. She reached up to feel his forehead, even though she knew it was ridiculous. "Damon, did you hit your head or—"

He smacked her hand away.

For a moment, they both stood there, Elena staring at her stinging hand, Damon as cold as stone. She could see him in her peripheral, unmoving, waiting for her next move.

Damon… had just hit her.

Slowly, trying to hide the tears forming in her eyes, she looked up at him, lowering the throbbing appendage to her side as she looked up at him. He stared back at her, unblinking, unwavering, his face giving away nothing.

She stepped forward, bracing herself for him to hit her, and finished closing the distance between them, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck.

He didn't move. He was as still as ice. And then, quietly, his voice low, he said, "Let go of me, Katherine."

Elena reeled backwards, breaking her hold of him as she stared up into his unflinching blue eyes. "Katherine?" she repeated, aghast. "Damon, what are you talking about? I'm not Katherine!" She gaped up at him, the pieces suddenly falling into place: the sudden murders whenever Jeremy and Damon were out. Damon's sudden disappearance. Damon's sudden distrust of her. "Is Katherine here? Is she in Mystic Falls? Is she the one—"

She cried out as he suddenly slammed her back against his car, his fingers biting brutally into her shoulders so hard she could feel them start to pierce her skin. She felt tears spring to her eyes as she stared up at him, terrified that he would kill her… Kill her, thinking she was Katherine… But why? Damon… Damon loved Katherine. Why would he be attacking her? Why, if he thought she was Katherine, wasn't he trying to kiss her? Why was he—

"Do you honestly think Elena would pull a girl off of me, Katherine? Pull some little jealousy act, when she's dating my idiot brother who she's ridiculously, hopelessly devoted to for some unknown reason?" he sneered down at her. "That was dumb, especially for you. And waiting out here, in the middle of the night, when people are being murdered? Elena's smarter than that. You should have done your homework. You're getting sloppy in your old age."

His fingernails were starting to draw blood. She could feel the dampness against her skin. She forced down her cries of pain, a lump forming in her throat as she stared up into his burning blue eyes… at the rage swirling inside of him.

But Damon wasn't just angry. She could see the pain under the fury… the torment. Damon looked… devastated. Broken.

"Damon," she said softly, pleading him with her eyes to believe her. "I'm not—"

He caught her last word, his lips soft and supple, passionate and full of a ferocity that ripped her heart right out of her chest. She tried to protest against his mouth, but it was useless. She was pinned back against the car by a 150 year old vampire, who was kissing her breathless, her heart pounding frantically against her ribs as if it really were trying to burst through her chest and straight into his hands.

And god, passion couldn't even describe what she felt. It was almost torturous how many explosions she felt, her body pulsing and alive and throbbing in sheer ecstasy. It was almost too much to bear, and she felt a moan form, somewhere deep inside of her, her clenched fists reaching up to thread her fingers in his silky black hair. She tried to pull him closer, impossibly closer, the distance between them too great even with as tightly pressed against the car as he had her…

He suddenly slammed her back against the car and she shrieked in pain, falling limply to the ground, tears of pain forming in her eyes as she stared up at him in a mixture of hurt and horror as he glared down at her.

"You got better at that," he sneered, his voice cold. Elena felt her cheeks flame as she gaped up at him, suddenly not sure whether to tell him it was really her or not even as he stalked to the other side of the car without another word. She heard his door open, and then the engine gunned, and Damon was gone.

* * *

Elena tried not to wince as Stefan wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close. "Hello, beautiful," he greeted, smiling warmly at her.

Guilt hung heavy over her, almost as painful as the stab wounds on her shoulders. Damon had done a number on her—every one of his fingers had left a wound almost a quarter of an inch deep, and her entire back was black and blue. She had bandaged herself up as well as she could, but everything was sore. Moving hurt… And that was just the physical pain.

She had cheated. On Stefan. On her boyfriend, who she loved. With his brother.

Maybe she really was like Katherine.

She shuddered at the thought. No. No. It wasn't true. She wasn't anything like Katherine. Katherine was evil. And if she was in town, there was no doubt that she was the one responsible for the murders following Damon and Jeremy. And clearly Damon had found Katherine—though Elena wasn't sure she wanted to know how—and thought that Elena had been her the night before… A thought Elena wasn't sure she wanted to correct, because if she admitted it had been her, then she would have to admit that she had kissed Damon. She had kissed Damon and enjoyed it.

She had… moaned.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked her.

Elena jumped, turning on him with wide eyes. "What? Sorry. Yes, I'm fine. Why?"

Stefan eyed her closely. "You look really flushed. Are you sure? Are you not feeling well?"

"No. I feel fine," she reassured him quickly. Too quickly. He stared at her closely, clearly not believing her. "Really, Stefan," she lied, feeling even more guilty. She hugged onto his arm, taking his hand and interlacing his strong fingers with hers. "I just want to enjoy today."

He grinned and squeezed her hand lightly. "Me, too," he agreed.

She smiled and looked up, angry at herself for being relieved at the sight of Caroline's blond hair approaching. "There're Caroline and Matt," she pointed out, quickly tugging him toward the couple.

"Hey guys!" Caroline greeted enthusiastically, with a bob of her pretty head. "So are we ready to shop 'til we drop?"

Matt groaned. "I thought we were going to see a movie."

Caroline made a face up at him. "We can't see a movie until this evening." She released his hand and stepped forward, interlacing her arm with Elena's. "Come on, Elena. Let's show these boys how it's done!"

Elena flashed a weak smile at Stefan, who nodded encouragingly at her, even as Caroline dragged her into the closest shop.

They spent the next few hours shopping, laughing, relaxing, and just enjoying being teenagers. Elena tried to enjoy herself, but it was almost impossible when every move she made reminded her that she had cheated on her boyfriend, who she loved, and caused her almost unbearable agony.

When Caroline and Matt went to get popcorn for the movie, Stefan and Elena waited by the ticket booth, Elena thoroughly exhausted. She had never been so ready for a day to be over. She just wanted to go home and lie on her stomach and sleep until her wounds had healed and she forgot all about that… electric… kiss with Damon.

"Elena?"

She jumped, turning to Stefan with wide eyes. "Sorry," she apologized, laughing in embarrassment. "What?"

His eyebrows were drawn together in concern. "Are you okay? You've seemed kind of out of it all day."

She felt guilt gnaw at her. "Sorry," she apologized again. "I'm fine. I think I didn't get enough sleep last night."

Stefan's eyes darkened slightly with worry. "Is something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she reassured him, then deliberately wrapped her arms around his neck and forced a smile. "I just want to enjoy being here with my loving, doting boyfriend, and my good friends, and enjoy being normal for a while."

When his arms wrapped around her back, pulling her close for a kiss, she had to withhold her sobs.

* * *

Movie chairs, Elena had discovered, were not for people who couldn't lean back against them. She sighed to herself as she and Stefan made their way up to his front door, trying to calm the pounding in her heart and the throbbing in her back. She had been tempted to tell him she didn't want to come over, but she did want to see Jeremy, and she didn't want anyone to think anything was going on—especially if she was going to pretend like the night before had never happened.

They walked in, heading to the living room, where they could hear Damon and someone else talking. Elena's heart leapt into her throat, but she tried to remain calm, reminding herself that Damon still thought it had been Katherine the night before.

When Stefan shot her a sideways look, Elena jumped slightly, immediately calling out, "Jer?" She winced to herself, frustrated that she was already doing a bad job at keeping up an appearance that everything was fine.

The living room suddenly went silent. Elena felt her heart drum against her ribs as she and Stefan entered, taking in Damon standing by the drinks, Jeremy sitting on the couch, and Alaric lounging in one of the chairs by the fire. The three were silent, staring at them through unreadable eyes.

"Did we interrupt something?" Stefan asked slowly, eyeing them all.

Elena felt her heart skip as she met Damon's carefully masked expression. Had he figured it out? Did he know that it had been her instead of Katherine? Did he—

"This is like that awkward moment where someone enters and the room goes silent because everyone was talking about that person, isn't it?" Damon suddenly asked brightly.

Jeremy snickered, looking back away from Elena and Stefan.

Elena felt her cheeks flame as she looked over at Stefan and back to Damon, who regarded her for a moment before turning to the table of drinks. "Jer," she started, stepping into the room. "I thought maybe you could come home tonight, if—"

"_Drink_, Elena?" Damon offered, suddenly right in front of her, a glass thrust into her stomach.

She looked up at him, stunned, almost tripping over the hand he held in her way. She looked down at the glass warily, then up into his unreadable eyes as she slowly took it. "What is it?" she asked, eyeing the dark colored liquid warily.

He winked and gave her a kittenish smile. "Soda and a little pick-me-up. C'mon, try it. I made it _just_ for you."

She looked back at Stefan, who frowned. "Damon, what kind of game is this?" Stefan asked, stepping closer.

Damon intercepted him smoothly, stepping between Elena and Stefan, turning his back to his brother and staring down at Elena, his blue eyes still a mask of merriment and taunts. "It's a new one I just invented, called, 'How far will Elena go?' C'mon, Elena. How can you resist a game named after you?"

He was testing her. She could see the daring, accusing look in his blue eyes. "Elena, you don't have to—" Stefan started, frowning over Damon's shoulder.

"Stefan, stop being so jealous. We'll make up a new game for you, later," Damon admonished, without letting his eyes leave Elena's. "What's wrong, Elena? Don't you trust my mixing skills? I could have been a bartender in someone's life, you know."

He was definitely after something. Something he wanted her to drink? But what…?

Almost as if he had told her himself, she knew. Vervain. He was trying to get her to drink vervain. And he was trying to do it without alerting the others. She felt some tenseness in her shoulders slip away as she smirked up at him. "In several someone's, I'm sure," she drawled, toasting her glass at him. She tossed the glass back, hissing as it burned and choked her all the way down her throat. "Damon!" she cried, thrusting the cup at him. "Did you have to put so much alcohol in there?"

From the chair, Alaric groaned. "I'm going to pretend like you didn't just give one of my under age students alcohol," he warned.

When her eyes were done watering and she looked back up at Damon, she saw the careful mask on his face lift, the relief and genuine regret obvious. And she knew, even without him saying, that the alcohol had been to cover up the smell of the vervain he'd put in the cup.

But Damon just grinned and winked, taking the glass away from her. "Want another one?" he asked impishly. "I'll call it the Elena special."

"No," she choked, wheezing. "Can I have some water?"

Stefan wrapped an arm around her to help her to the couch, which hurt worse than the alcohol. She accepted the water bottle Damon held out to her gratefully, swishing it around in her mouth to clear the taste.

"What were you guys talking about when we came in?" Stefan asked, still frowning at Damon.

"You. And how utterly boring and droll you are. But then you came in and it suddenly became a very uncomfortable conversation topic." Damon made a shooing gesture toward the entryway. "So can you go so we can continue? We were just about to start the imitations." He shot Elena a wink, his lips curling up into a devilish smile. "You can stay."

Damn—why was she staring at his mouth? She flushed and made a face at him, turning to Jeremy. "Jer, I wanted to know if you would come home tonight."

"Why?" Jeremy asked, looking up at her through his lashes, his arms crossed over his chest.

Elena stared at him. "Because you're my brother, Jer, and… this isn't your home."

Jeremy straightened, his eyes flashing. "It isn't?" he demanded, his sudden anger startling her. "Really, Elena? Is Jenna's house our home? Do you feel more at home there than you do here? If that's true, why do you spend so much time here, huh?"

She stammered for a response. "Jer—"

"Don't hold me to your standards! If I don't want to go home, I won't. I like it here. I want to live here. I'm _happy_ here. Maybe you feel the same way, huh? Isn't that why you're here so much? You don't want to be in that house anymore than I do. The difference is I can break out of it, and you can't."

"Jer," Elena objected, frowning at him. "Jenna needs us with her right now. She's—"

"Comatose! She doesn't know whether we're there or not, Elena, and you know it." Jeremy stared at her and shook his head in disgust, lifting himself from the couch.

"Jeremy!" Elena called, jumping to her feet to chase after him. "Where are you going?"

"To my room!" he shouted, stomping up the stairs.

There was a moment of silence, and then Damon's dry voice drawled, "God I hope he grows out of this before I stake him."

* * *

Elena cried out as her arm was yanked on, whirling her around. She stared in disbelief at Bonnie, who was glaring daggers at her.

"Bonnie?" Elena asked, stunned. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Bonnie looked murderous. "I know what Damon and your brother have been doing," she warned quietly, menacingly. "You keep them in line, Elena. Or I'll come after them."

Elena gaped at her, horrified. "Bonnie, it's not them. Someone is framing them!"

Bonnie shook her head. "I know you'd like to believe that, Elena, but I don't." She stared hard at her. "This is your last chance." And with that, Bonnie strode out of the Mystic Grill.

Elena stared after her, feeling sick. She slowly lifted her head to the pool area, where Damon was staring at her unabashedly, his face heavy with concern. Jeremy was behind him, lining up his shot at the table.

Elena hesitated, but slowly made her way over to the table, knowing she couldn't avoid Damon after what had just happened. She had been steadfastly trying to avoid him for the last couple of days without making it obvious, but there she was… somehow drawn right back to where he was without meaning to be.

He stroked the back of feather-soft fingers along her cheek, smoothing her hair away from her face as she joined them, gazing down at her seriously. And then, as she felt her temperature rise, he abruptly turned away, going to the wall and selecting a pool cue.

"Let's hope you don't suck," Damon warned her, handing her the stick. "We're stripes, and we're winning."

She guessed Bonnie grabbing her arm had indicated she wasn't Katherine. She wasn't sure whether she was grateful or frustrated as she took the cue he held out to her.

"That's not fair," Jeremy protested. "Who's going to be my partner?"

Damon clapped him roughly on the back. "Be a man," he encouraged, with a deliberate pause, nodding at him.

Jeremy made a face at him.

Elena leaned down to line up a shot on one of the striped balls, freezing when she felt Damon just centimeters behind her. She slowly lifted her head, shock waves running through her body at how close he was to her. "A little space?" she requested pointedly, trying not to flush.

Damon made a face at her. "Don't flatter yourself. I was making sure your shot was lined up." He leaned over her, resting his arms over hers and his back over hers to line the cue up. She winced in pain, tensing, and prayed he couldn't tell. "Right about…" He leaned harder against her back, which screamed in pain. "There."

When he leaned back she staggered in pain and would have fallen if he hadn't caught by her shoulders, which burned from his fingers. She felt tears spring to her eyes as his fingers fell into the same spots they had before, astonishingly gentle and light, especially since she knew the kind of force he was capable of, because he had used it before.

Damon's face was full of confusion and concern, the worry almost too much for her to bear through her pain. "I'm fine," she lied, wheezing as she struggled to step away from him. "Sorry. I just got light headed. I'm fine."

He didn't release her, staring at her with so much worry she felt her heart ache. He looked almost… panicked. But Damon didn't panic. That wasn't like Damon.

It also wasn't like Damon to look at someone with so much… love.

God.

Damon really did love her.

She felt a sob choke her. She pushed off of his chest with her hands, her shoulders screaming as his fingers tore at the wounds they had created before, and without another word, ran from the bar.

The night air was cold, astonishingly cold. She felt it bite into her skin through her black button-down blouse as she turned to run down the street; to run home and never look back. And yet a hand grabbed her forearm, spinning her back around, and she knew she'd be looking up at Damon before she actually turned to look. He was staring at her with a mixture of confusion and concern on his beautiful face, and in that moment, she hated him. Hated him for being so worried about her. Hated him for loving her. Hated him for making her glad he did.

"Why didn't you tell me about Katherine?" she demanded, watching his eyes widen in disbelief. "I thought we were friends, Damon. Why didn't you tell me?"

He stared at her. "How do you know about Katherine?" he asked slowly.

"It wasn't hard," she sneered angrily. "You lacing my drinks with vervain? Suddenly acting suspicious of me?" She glared at him. "So what happened, Damon? If she's here, why haven't you run off with her? Why are you still hanging out around here?"

He looked… crushed. Heartbroken. Devastated. Like she had just splintered something inside of him. She felt a sob build up inside of her and whirled around. "You should tell her to stop killing people!" she snapped at him. "She's going to get Bonnie after you and Jeremy."

"Elena—" he protested, grabbing her wrist.

She whirled back and smacked him across the face as hard as she could.

She knew to him, her hit probably felt like nothing, but the emotional impact of it seemed to break something inside of him. When he looked back at her, his eyes were empty. And yet she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't stop attacking. She was desperate to attack. She was afraid to stop. Afraid that if she did, she would allow herself to acknowledge the love in his eyes, and if she did that, she'd need to acknowledge—

No! Stefan!

"I don't need someone in my life who doesn't trust me," she spat at him. "Certainly not someone who I can't trust. Stay away from me from now on, Damon." And with that, she turned and ran, choking on her sobs all the way home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to this story! I'm so happy you liked chapter one (which were actually chapters 1-14 for those who were reading it on my LJ!). Sorry the last chapter was so long... I'm new to posting to so I wasn't really sure what I was doing. I think I've got it now, though. :) And thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story so far! **Thank you!**

* * *

Elena Gilbert felt astonishment flood through her when she opened her front door a few days later to see a very uncomfortable looking Damon Salvatore standing on her front porch, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there.

Her first thought was of relief at the sight of him, and then how much she had missed his smile. And then she quickly wrapped herself in her anger and betrayal and glared back at him. "What are you doing here?" she asked flatly.

He wordlessly held out a water bottle to her, not quite meeting her eyes.

She angrily snatched it from his hand, taking a few gulps of the vervain-laced soda before thrusting it back at him. "What are you doing here?" she repeated angrily.

"Have you seen Jeremy?" he asked.

She felt her heart plummet into her stomach. "Jeremy?" she repeated, her breath catching in her throat. "What do you mean?"

"So… no." He turned away from her. "If he comes, tell him to call me."

"Damon!" she objected quickly, rushing out after him. She grabbed his arm and whirled him back, terror gripping her heart as she stared up into his carefully concealed concern and discomfort. "Jeremy's missing? How long has he been gone?"

"Since last night."

She felt her anger build up inside of her. "And you didn't think you should tell me?" she demanded. "He's my brother, Damon! You're supposed to be looking after him! You said you would—"

"Stefan said he would call you." Damon turned away from her.

"Damon!" Elena pleaded, hearing her voice crack. He paused, hesitated, then slowly looked back at her, his expression guarded. "Is he… okay?"

"I'll find him," he said quietly. "I promise, Elena. I'll bring him home safely." She watched as he turned away, heading back down the path to his car.

She hesitated, but before she could allow herself to think about the consequences of her actions, she chased after him, throwing open the passenger door of his car and climbing in just as he stuck the key into the ignition.

He froze. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking over at her blankly.

"I'm going with you." When he just stared at her, she scowled at him. "He's my brother, Damon. I'm going."

"You don't even know where I'm going," he returned evenly. "I don't even know where I'm going."

"Well then I guess we're going to have an interesting time getting there. But I'm going." To emphasize her point, she strapped herself into the seat, trying not to tense as her still-sore back hit the back of the seat and folded her hands on her lap. When he still didn't turn the key, she looked over at him to find him staring at her, and had to force down the butterflies in her stomach. "This isn't helping find Jeremy," she reminded, irritated.

He turned the key in the ignition, letting out a slow breath even as he put the car into drive.

They'd been driving aimlessly for hours, stopping in and out of random places that Damon had apparently taken Jeremy, without so much as a word between them. She wasn't even sure where they were anymore, or if they were even in the state, but the silence between them was endless and painful… almost worse than the pain in her back and shoulders.

Had it really been only a week earlier? She was almost regretful the wounds on her body were healing… Regretful that as they faded, it felt more like something she had dreamt. Something she would no longer have tangible proof of. And yet she was grateful, too. Grateful that it wouldn't be something she had to hide any longer. Grateful she could pretend like it had never happened.

And then, maybe, things could go back to the way they had been between the two of them.

Because… she missed Damon.

He was only a few inches away, but she missed him desperately. Almost like some part of her had been ripped away. Like she was missing something in her life.

Something… irreplaceable.

Damon suddenly swore, yanking on the steering wheel and pulling a quick u-turn in the middle of the road. She squealed in protest, yelping loudly. "What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"I know where he is," Damon told her darkly, his voice venomous.

Elena felt her heart leap in relief. "Where?" she asked.

Damon gunned the engine. "The cemetery."

* * *

Dread flooded through her as she stared through the darkness at the empty grave in front of her and Damon. Slowly, Elena knelt down, staring at Anna's tombstone, which had only been marked, _Anna_.

"That idiot!" Damon hissed furiously, kicking at the dirt. "That stupid son of a—"

"We have to find him," Elena interrupted quickly, standing. "If he's going to try to bring her back, that means he's going to go for Bonnie, right? Then we just have to find Bonnie."

"He doesn't need Bonnie," Damon spat. "He just needs a witch willing to do it. If he dug her up, he found one." Damon kicked at the dirt again. "That _idiot_! I knew he was up to something! I _knew_ spending that much time on the computer wasn't natural!"

Elena stared at him uneasily. "What… what does it mean?" she asked slowly. "If he found someone willing to—"

"Who knows?" Damon demanded. "She could be a flesh-eating zombie. It's only a rumor. I told him that. I told him to forget about it. I told him to just let her rest in peace." He kicked the dirt again. "Damn it, Jeremy!"

She hesitantly placed a hand on his back, slowly spinning with it until she faced him and gripped his upper arm, which was tense. He stared down at her, his eyes dark with anger. "We have to find him," she repeated.

"Oh, right. Let me just turn on my Jeremy-homing device." He patted his pockets and sneered at her. "Oops, must have left it at home."

She glared at him. "Sarcasm isn't going to help us find him," she reminded, trying to keep her patience. "Let's get on his computer and look up what sites he was visiting; who he was talking to. Maybe he exchanged e-mails with whoever is going to try this."

"Right, right… And I'll just use my awesome hacking skills to… Oh, nope, wait… That wasn't one of the skills I acquired when I became a vampire." He scowled down at her. "Anymore brilliant ideas?"

She pursed her lips together, her blood boiling in fury as she glared up into his swirling blue eyes. And yet underneath his mask of sarcasm and anger she could see the concern and fear. He was scared. He was worried about Jeremy.

She took his hand. "We're going to find him," she promised.

He snapped his hand away. "Use that touchy-feely stuff on my brother," he shot back flatly. "It doesn't work on me." He grabbed her shoulder, his fingers falling into the healing wounds and gave her a light shove on her back, pushing her to the car. "Let's go."

Her knees gave out on her as her body throbbed in response to the grip, his arms catching her as she started to fall. Her breath caught in her throat as he held onto her, neither of them saying a word as she hung slumped in his arms, struggling to return the weight back to her feet.

After a long moment, he spoke. "What's wrong with you?" he asked quietly, his voice low.

She forced herself to push away from him. "Nothing," she declared, trying to keep her voice steady. "I just stumbled. Thank you."

He yanked her back by her arm, staring down at her through hard blue eyes. "How did you know about Katherine?" he asked suddenly.

She felt all the blood drain from her face, and then come rushing back. She was grateful for the darkness that covered up her flushed features as she stared up at him in the moonlight, her mind spinning frantically as she searched for an answer.

Slowly, his face still an unreadable mask, Damon's hands reached up and landed on her shoulders, his fingers falling right into the holes he had made the week before.

Her breath caught in a ragged gasp of pain in her throat as they stared at each other, a million emotions flickering over Damon's face.

She quickly broke away, half-stumbling, half-launching herself from his grip. "We need to find Jer," she reminded quickly. "We've got to stop him."

"Was it you?"

She heard his voice behind her, unreadable, her steps falling short. She tried to say she didn't know what he was talking about, but the words died before she could start them. And her loyalty to Stefan—her boyfriend, who she loved—wouldn't allow herself to say yes.

Wordlessly, she continued to his car.


	3. Chapter 3

**History - Chapter Three**

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews! And thank all of you who are coming back to read this story! You are amazing! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story so far! Thank you for reading. :)

* * *

Elena's fingers shook as she tried the passwords she knew Jeremy used on several of his accounts. She and Damon had driven back to his and Stefan's house in silence, and as soon as he'd let her in he'd disappeared while she went up to Jeremy's room. Stefan was nowhere to be found, and though she'd been trying to call him, it kept going straight to voice mail.

She let out a sound of frustration as the e-mail account again flashed _Password Incorrect_ at her.

"Come on, Jer," she muttered, irritated. What would her brother have used?

"Did you try the obvious?" Damon asked.

She looked up over her shoulder as he entered the room, her heart picking up its pace as she saw the bottle of antiseptic, cotton balls, bandages, and black t-shirt in his hands. "What?" she asked.

"Anna," he answered, in a "duh" tone. She stiffened as he slid onto the bed behind her and gasped as his fingers started lifting her shirt.

"Damon!" she cried, trying to squirm away, whirling on him angrily, her cheeks flushing. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs.

He rolled his eyes and held her down by her hips, keeping her firmly planted on the bed in front of him. "Please. Like you'd be any fun without being able to be on your back. Now don't be a prude. I'm a gentleman." He tugged at her shirt again.

"Damon!" she yelped again, trying to hold it down.

He impatiently reached around in front of her, shaking the bottle of antiseptic in front of her. "I'll be as clinical and boring as a doctor. Or my brother. Now stop. Do you think I can't smell that they're bleeding?"

"They are?" she asked quickly, looking over her shoulder at the spots where the marks were. The wounds had scabbed over a few days earlier, and she had been careful not to scratch at them even when they itched to keep them from bleeding. "Where?"

When he didn't say anything, she looked up at him, startled by how close he was. He had curled one leg behind her, his other one stretched out along the side of her, his hands on her hips, and he had been leaning over her. Her breath caught in her throat as they stared at each other, his blue eyes unreadable.

"Gotcha," he said softly.

She felt her face flame in embarrassment and horror, quickly facing forward. "As clinical as a doctor, right?" she asked hesitantly, mostly to change the subject as fast as she could.

"On my honor."

She couldn't resist peering back up at him. "Do you have honor?" she countered.

He leaned back slightly and held a hand to his chest, as if pierced by an arrow. "Ouch, Elena. That one hurt." His eyes danced devilishly. "You've been hanging out with me for too long. My quick wit and sharp tongue are starting to rub off on you."

"Don't flatter yourself," she returned, rolling her eyes. She faced forward again, hesitantly lifting her shirt over her head. "Clinical," she reminded, feeling herself flush.

"You take the fun out of everything," he retorted, but she could feel him already making quick work with the antiseptic and cotton balls.

Her fingers trembled as she tried typing in the password to Jeremy's e-mail account. It was almost impossible with Damon's soft fingers on her shoulders, dressing the wounds he'd created. And she knew, without a word being exchanged between them, that it was his way of making up for hurting her. For not knowing it had been her and not Katherine all along. His way of doing whatever he could to apologize, without making her talk about it—without making her admit to something she couldn't admit to without betraying Stefan. And so she was letting him, to accept his apology, even though she was pretty sure the wounds didn't need dressing. Damon was trying desperately to take away the hurt he had unknowingly caused her… She could feel how feather-soft his fingers were; how gentle and careful he was being. It was all he could do. It was all either of them could do.

She heard bandages being pulled apart just as she logged into Jeremy's e-mail account with _Anna_. "Damon, you're a genius!" she exclaimed excitedly, quickly scanning through the log.

"You're just now figuring this out?" he returned patiently. She tried not to shiver at the closeness of his breath on her bare skin, which burned beneath his cool hands as he moved to her other shoulder.

Jeremy had been exchanging dozens of e-mails each day with different people. She groaned and started clicking, scanning through the e-mails. He'd been reaching out to each of them, trying to get information from them about bringing a vampire back from the dead, but none of them seemed to think it was feasible.

Elena's breath hitched as Damon's fingers trailed lightly over her back, which she knew was still purple and green from where he'd slammed her against the car. And then her entire body stiffened and melted when she felt cool lips press against her right shoulder, and then her left.

She flushed and quickly gathered her senses about her. "That's not clin—" she started vehemently, whirling on him.

The black t-shirt was suddenly tossed at her, covering her up, even as Damon lifted himself up from the bed. "Cleaning you up makes a mess," he declared, heading out of the room without a backwards glance.

She scowled after him, but slowly pulled on the black t-shirt that he'd tossed at her—to prevent him from seeing anything, she knew, Damon behaving gentlemanly in his own way—instantly surrounded by Damon's heady cologne. She almost groaned at the familiar scent, angry at herself for being so pleased.

She had a boyfriend. She had a boyfriend she loved. How could she be doing this to him? How could she be here, with his brother, wearing his brother's shirt, letting his brother kiss her shoulders? How could she do that to him?

But wearing Damon's shirt was like being wrapped up in him, and she snuggled a little deeper into it, pausing as her eye caught sight of the dark blue shirt she'd been wearing.

Along the shoulders, right where her wounds were, tiny stains had formed.

Damon hadn't been lying. She really had been bleeding.

She slowly folded the shirt and set it aside, forcing herself to go back to Jeremy's e-mail. How could she even be thinking about Damon at a time like this? Jeremy was out there, somewhere, trying to bring his dead vampire girlfriend back to… well… not life, exactly… But reanimate her. They needed to find him.

"Any luck?" Damon asked, throwing himself onto the bed beside her, causing the bed to bounce obnoxiously.

She scowled as he smiled prettily up at her. "No," she retorted. "It's a total bust. All these e-mails just keep saying that it's only a theory, but no one knows how to make it happen."

"Did you check the trash?"

She looked over at the desk automatically, frowning. "The trash?" she asked. The polished wood trash can looked empty from what she could see, but—

"Are you kidding?" Damon demanded, yanking the laptop away from her. She frowned down at him. "Maybe I really did get vampire hacking powers." He clicked a few buttons and smiled triumphantly, sliding the laptop back to her. "Mystic890."

Elena quickly clicked on the e-mail, opening it up. "I can meet you tonight," she read to Damon. "At the Lenning estate. Bring the body." She looked up at Damon in disbelief. "What are we waiting for?" she asked. "Let's go!"

"Not without my thanks," he complained, but he was already getting up from the bed.

She slowly looked up at him, adjusting his t-shirt around her waist. "Thank you, Damon," she said softly.

His lighthearted look died slightly. He nodded at her, just once, and gestured grandly to the door. "C'mon," he drawled. "Let's go save your bratty little brother."

"Hey," she protested.

"He's totally doing 1,000 pushups after this."


	4. Chapter 4

**History - Chapter Four**

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Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has commented, favorited, and read this story! You guys are amazing-thank you! I'm so, so happy that you're enjoying it! :) I feel like there should be a warning with this chapter, but I'm not quite sure what it should be, so... You've been warned...

* * *

Elena cried out when Damon suddenly—carefully—trapped her between himself and the car. "Where you going, beautiful?" he asked politely.

Elena frowned up at him. "To get Jeremy, Damon. Move, come on. We're wasting time!" She tried to move his arm, but he was, after all, a vampire. She scowled up at him.

"Not in there you're not. I'm not taking you in there. We don't know if it's worked yet, and if it has, we don't know what Anna will be. And I'm not having her drain you or eat your flesh or suck your brain out."

Elena made a face. "Ew, Damon."

He nodded emphatically. "Exactly. So." He pulled open the passenger side door. "You wait in the car, and I'll go seek and destroy."

Elena stared at him blankly. "It's a rescue mission. We're here for Jer."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Search and rescue, then. Happy?"

She frowned. "No. I'm going with you. He's my brother."

Damon's face quickly shifted into serious. "No, Elena. You're not going. I just wasn't about to leave you in the house alone with Katherine on the loose. Wait here. I'll be right back with Jeremy." He cupped her cheek, his eyes gazing intensely into hers. Her heart skipped and pounded rapidly against her ribs. "I promise."

She frowned. "Do you really think it's safe for me out here?" she countered, looking around at the heavily wooded area. "Katherine's been following you. She could be here right now."

Damon cast a look around, his eyes sharp. "No." He pointed to the seat. "Get in. Stop wasting time."

"Damon—"

"Now, Elena!" He took her arm and practically shoved her into the car.

She struggled against him. "Damon!" she protested. "I'm going with you! He's my brother! Stop!"

"Elena, you're not going! Now get in and lock the doors!" He finished stuffing her into the car and slammed the door behind her, taking off toward the house.

She climbed out quickly, chasing after him. He whirled back around, his eyes wild. "Get in the car!" he shouted.

She shook her head adamantly and continued walking toward him, crying out when he was suddenly _there_, his hand gripping her chin, his mouth at her neck. "That's all it takes, Elena. If she's hungry, that's it." He stepped back away from her, his eyes dark. "I get that you want to save your brother. I _get_ it. We've been here before, with Stefan, remember? This isn't any different. Now get in the car!"

"I helped last time!" she argued, her heart beating frantically. "I—"

"Could have gotten yourself killed!" he snapped. "Do you think I want to see that happen to you? I—"

A scream from the house tore through the clearing.

Elena's blood ran cold as she and Damon both stared at the house. She felt terror grip her bones as she clung to Damon's leather jacket, trying not to tremble.

"Elena, get in the car. In the glove box, there's a vervain dart Ric left behind. If anyone—even Jeremy—shows up without me, you stab them with it. Do you understand me?"

She swallowed hard.

Damon suddenly whirled on her. "Elena," he said urgently, his voice serious. "Do you understand?"

She nodded shakily. He stared hard at her, and before she could stop him, he suddenly kissed her firmly, pressing something into her hand, and stepped back so quickly she didn't even have a chance to figure out how to react. "Get in the car," he ordered, and then he was gone.

She staggered to the car, shaking as she locked the doors and grabbed the dart from the glove compartment. She stared hard at the house, praying for any sign of Damon… Any sign he would come out okay, unharmed, with Jeremy in tow.

She looked down at what he had stuck in her hand, trembling as she realized he had given her the car keys.

Car keys, in case something had gone wrong.

In case she needed to get out of there.

In case she needed to leave him behind.

She felt tears of fear sting her eyes as she stared at the house, praying for any sign of Damon. She saw a figure hurrying toward the car, half-carrying another person, and straightened, her heart leaping into her throat as she stared in horror.

Jeremy.

Jeremy's eyes were wide with fear as he rushed to the car, banging on the window. "Elena," he cried. "Hurry, open up!"

Elena couldn't tear her eyes away from Damon's broken, bleeding figure. Jeremy looked like he was barely holding on himself, but he was conscious. She looked down at the dart in her hand and the car keys and quickly slid into the driver's seat, her eyes widening in terror as she saw the figure of the girl in the distance.

Jeremy looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening in fear. "Elena, hurry!" Jeremy begged desperately.

She quickly unlocked the door. Jeremy jumped in with Damon, slamming the door shut behind them. Elena floored it, screaming as the girl outside jumped on the car, trying to break through the window. Her teeth were bared savagely, her eyes wild. The glass shattered as she punched through it, sending glass everywhere. She clawed desperately at Jeremy's face and throat, ripping into Damon's flesh, which oozed blood where he lay covering Jeremy, who tried to fight her off.

Elena tried to shove the dart at her, but the girl smacked it away, reaching for Elena's wrist with hungry eyes. Elena screamed, trying to rip her arm away, the car swerving dangerously. Damon's eyes suddenly flew open, his fist flying out and cracking against the girl's chin. The girl, who had once been Anna, shrieked and clawed harder at him. Elena watched in terror as they fought against each other, but it was clear Anna had the advantage. She opened her mouth and leaned forward, as if to bite into the large gash across Damon's throat.

Damon was going to…

No!

Elena yanked off her necklace of vervain and tossed it straight into the girl's mouth.

The girl screamed and fell back, shrieking. Damon gave her another few hard punches, and with that, she went flying out the window.

Damon fell back, looking barely conscious. Elena looked between her shaken brother, who was badly injured, but alive, and Damon, who looked like he was barely hanging on, and said a silent prayer. She snatched up the vervain dart and rammed it into Jeremy's side, emptying it into him.

"Elen…" Jeremy started, looking stunned before he fell unconscious.

Tears flooded her eyes as she carefully reached for Damon, turning him across her and Jeremy so his head rested on her lap, his blood pouring all over both of them through the chunk of missing flesh where his throat should have been. "Damon," she said brokenly, trying to get through to him.

His eyes fluttered, looking up at her. He smiled weakly. "Told you I'd get him," he told her cockily, his voice sounding oddly strained, as if his vocal cords had been tugged and ripped almost to the point of snapping.

She didn't know it was possible to laugh and cry. "You did," she agreed. She swallowed hard and placed her wrist against his mouth. "But now you need to drink."

He blinked, as if trying to clear his vision, and frowned. "Elena—"

"Damon, please," she begged, pressing her wrist against his mouth. "You're losing a lot of blood."

He scoffed weakly. "I'll be fine."

She knew he wouldn't. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. "Damon, please," she begged, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Please, I'm begging you." She pressed her wrist against his mouth. "Please."

His face contorted in pain, but he turned it away from her wrist, as if turning away from it were excruciating. "No," he declared, his voice thick with pain. "I won't."

"You'll die," she whimpered, touching the open wound where his throat had been torn apart.

"I won't," he repeated, his eyes falling closed.

She felt more tears fall onto her cheeks. "Don't make me sit here and hold you while you die," she swore angrily at him. "Don't you dare, Damon! Not when I can save you! Drink, damn you!"

He smiled, an alarmingly peaceful smile. "This wouldn't be such a bad place to die," he murmured.

Her pants and the seat were soaked with his blood. He was paler than normal… His skin was taking on an ashen color. Oh god, Damon really was dying. Damon was dying, right in her arms.

Elena felt her hysteria grow. "I thought you loved me," she cried, in that moment not caring about the consequences of her words—barely even registering what she was saying. Damon was dying. Damon was lying in her arms, dying, and he wouldn't do anything about it. He was going to let himself die, and she was going to have to watch, helpless to do anything about it. "If you loved me, you wouldn't make me hold you as you died! You wouldn't put me through that!"

He smiled faintly. "Guess I don't, then."

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. These couldn't be the last words Damon would ever speak to her. That couldn't be the last smile she would ever see from him. Not when she could still see his cavalier, impish, taunting smile so bright and vivid in her mind. "Damon," she begged, pressing her wrist to his lips once more. "Please. Please, Damon. Drink!"

There was no answer.

"Damon?" Elena asked, her heart skipping in terror. "Damon?"

She looked down at the still figure in her lap. Damon was a vampire… He didn't breathe. He didn't have a heartbeat. How could she tell if he was dead? How would she know if he…

He wasn't moving!

"Damon!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

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_Author's Note_: I know I haven't replied to everyone yet, and I apologize... I will get back to you, I promise! But I wanted to get this chapter up and out there. The responses to this story have been overwhelming and have truly touched me. I have been looking forward to writing this scene since I started this story-everything was building to this part. So I'm so, so happy, beyond words, that you have enjoyed it. Truly... Thank you. Your comments and favoriting this story and coming back to read are really an honor to me. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

* * *

_This couldn't be happening!_

Elena yanked the car over to the side of the road and tore frantically at her wrist with her teeth, trying to pierce the skin. When that didn't work, she opened Damon's mouth and used his teeth, desperately praying she wasn't too late. She reached over Jeremy and grabbed a piece of the glass from the broken window, sliding it roughly across her wrist.

And then she held it over Damon's mouth and waited.

And prayed.

And clung to him.

"Come on, Damon," she pleaded desperately. "Come on, Damon… Come on… Please don't die on me. Please… Come on…" Panic bubbled up inside of her. "Come on, damn you! Drink!" She choked on a sob. "Damon… please…"

Lips closed around her wrist.

She focused on them sharply, her heart hammering in her chest as Damon's eyes slowly fluttered open, looking unfocused.

"Thank god," she whispered, her tears of relief falling onto her cheeks. "Thank god, Damon."

The hazy blue eyes suddenly sharpened and he quickly sprang away, or tried to, but he fell back almost immediately, looking at her in a mixture of horror and terror. "Damon," she pleaded, holding out her wrist. "Drink. You need to drink! I thought you were dead!"

"Did I hurt you?" he asked her, looking… genuinely terrified. Like if she said yes, he'd go let Anna finish the job.

"No," she whispered brokenly, holding up the piece of glass she'd used to cut her wrist. "No. You didn't."

He stared at her as if he couldn't decide whether to yell at her or if he wasn't sure if he believed her. And while he debated, the blood that he needed to keep himself alive poured from the open wound in his throat. He was going to die if he didn't drink. He needed to close that wound, and he needed blood to do it… Blood she had. Blood she was offering him. "Damon, drink," she pleaded again. "You're half-dead."

"I am dead," he returned, still staring at her with wide, wary eyes. "Did I compel you?"

"Do you have the strength to compel me?" she returned, half-laughing, half-crying. "Damon—"

"No, Elena!" He looked around. When he did, she could see every muscle in his neck, barely holding his head on. "Where are we? Why are we stopped?"

"I thought you were dead," she whispered. "I-I needed to stop so I could cut my wrist so you could drink—"

"Drive."

"Damon—"

"Drive, Elena!"

She shakily put the car back into gear, flooring it back down the dark road. "You need to—"

"Ric's house," Damon ordered. "She and Katherine weren't invited in."

She nodded, looking over at him. He was starting to get pale again. She could see the blood pouring out of the gash in his throat and onto his shirt. "Damon," she pleaded, holding out her still bleeding wrist. "Please."

"I'm going to compel you to stop asking me," he threatened darkly. "You'll be pulling a skeleton from this car."

"I'm going to pull one from it if you don't drink!" she cried. "Why won't you let me help you?"

He settled in the seat with Jeremy's unconscious figure, eyeing it briefly before turning back to Elena. "Because I swore I would never drink your blood," he told her flatly. "That I'd die before I did."

"You're _going_ to die."

"Good. Then go be happy with Saint Stefan. Let me rest in peace." He shot a look over his shoulder. "Don't bring me back and turn me into whatever that was."

He was turning ashen. She pressed harder on the gas, her heart aching. She had never been so relieved when she pulled back into the main streets of Mystic Falls. She screeched to a halt outside of Alaric's house, turning to Damon.

"We're…" she started, trailing off at the still figure laying peacefully on the seat beside Jeremy, looking calm, his skin gray and cold.

Dead.

"Damon?" she said softly. She reached over and shook him roughly. "Damon?" She shook him harder. "Damon!"

Frantically, she pressed her wrist to his lips, squeezing along her arm to try and pour the blood faster into his mouth.

Nothing.

Not again. Not again. No no, not again. Please, god, not again. No. She had brought him back once, she could do it again.

She squeezed harder, slicing deeper into her wrist, making more cuts to make the blood pour faster. She didn't even feel the pain through the adrenaline pumping through her body as the blood gushed from her, sliding down into his unresponsive mouth.

A terror she had never felt seized her as she slowly realized it wasn't working. Her blood wasn't working.

Damon wasn't coming back around.

"Damon!" she screamed. "_Damon!_"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

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_Author's Note:_ At the very last minute, I added the entire last part of this chapter. In fact, it originally ended after the first cut. Go figure! :) Hope you enjoy! Thank you again to all who are reading each chapter, and everyone who is reviewing! You guys are incredible. :)

* * *

"Elena!"

Elena cried out as she looked up through the window at Alaric, who stared in through the passenger window in horror. As she recognized him, she desperately pressed her gushing, limp wrist to Damon's mouth and gestured to the door. "Help me," she begged. "Damon… He's not… He's not…"

Alaric stared at her, understanding crossing his features. "Elena, it's not going to—"

"Don't say that!" Elena cried. "He just needs more! Do you have some?"

Alaric looked pained. "I have some, but Elena, it's not—"

"Help me!" she cried. "Please! Please help me!"

He carried Jeremy's limp body up to the house first. Alone in the car with Damon, she stroked his graying cheek, pleading with him to open his eyes. That car ride couldn't have been the last time she had seen those astonishingly bright blue eyes, could it? Had he somehow known he wouldn't leave this fight alive? Was that why he had kissed her before going in? Damn that Damon Salvatore. Damn him, damn him, damn him.

She sobbed softly, resting her forehead against his upper arm… The only part of him not covered in his blood. "If you knew," she whispered, "you should have kissed me longer."

Brokenly, she ran her hand against his face. Her vision was starting to get spotty and her head was starting to feel light. She was starting to lose too much blood, but she wasn't going to stop. Not until Damon woke up. Damon _would_ wake up. She had woken him up before. She could do it again. Damon needed her. He needed her. He would wake up. He would. She would help him.

"Elena, you're going to kill yourself," Alaric said softly, appearing at the door.

"Help me get him inside," Elena pleaded. Without letting her wrist leave his mouth, she and Alaric carried Damon into the house and into the guest bedroom. She crawled onto the bed beside him, tears sliding down her cheeks as she stared at his gray skin, trying to convince herself that the withering flesh was just a trick of the light—just her imagination. It wasn't really Damon's body giving out on him. It wasn't. Damon was going to be fine. He would be fine. He had just kissed her, less than an hour ago. And as soon as he got some blood in him, she would scold him for doing it and he would give her that teasing, impish smile that made her heart skip and taunt her with some Damon-ism, and everything would go back to normal.

He just had to open his eyes.

"Damon, please," she begged. "Please…"

"Elena." She looked up as Alaric held out a blood packet. Gratefully, she took it and quickly opened it, pouring it slowly into Damon's mouth.

Packet after packet she slowly poured into Damon's empty mouth. It seemed like half of it ended up through the gaping hole in his throat, but some of it was going down—she was sure of it. So she kept pouring. Kept emptying.

"Come on, Damon," Elena whispered, emptying the eighth packet into his mouth. She pressed her forehead against his as she opened the next packet, smelling the metallic blood against his lips. She prayed to feel breath against her lips, though she knew he didn't breathe. She prayed to feel warmth against her skin, though she knew vampires were cold. She prayed for something—anything—to show he was still alive. Still in there. He had to be okay. He had to be. It was _Damon_. Damon, with the easy smile, quick quips, and tenderness that rivaled his cruelty. He couldn't be gone. He couldn't be _gone_! She wouldn't let him go. She would never let him go. "Please show me those blue eyes again."

Lips lightly brushed against hers, not exactly in a kiss, as a soft, rough-sounding voice said, "Can't see them from there."

Elena jerked back, wide-eyed, staring in joyous disbelief at the blue eyes that gazed back at her. "Damon," she whispered.

He groaned. "You just can't let me die, can you?" he asked, his voice scratchy and strained. "There were pearly gates, Elena. Pearly gates."

She laughed through her tears. "You were in a fiery pit, weren't you?"

"There were burning hot pokers." He winced as he shifted. "Don't let them kid you; those things sting."

She carefully brought the ninth packet to his mouth, smiling as tears slid down her cheeks. "You owe me your life twice now," she whispered.

His eyes held hers until the packet was empty. When she reached for another, he said, "I didn't ask you to save me."

She froze with her hand on the packet, feeling her heart plummet into her stomach. Slowly, she looked back at him and swallowed the lump that formed. She nodded, dropping her eyes from his intense gaze.

She started to lift the packet back to his mouth, frowning when he made a face and turned away from it. "Damon—" she started threateningly.

"Can I at least get a cup? This is so… uncouth. How long have you been doing this to me?" His eyes fell to the pile of empty packets on the bed, the mock-annoyance shifting quickly to an unreadable, penetrating gaze as he looked back up at her.

"I'll get you a cup," she agreed softly, pushing up from the bed.

His hand reached out and caught her wrist. She cried out even as his eyes snapped to the open, gaping wound along her wrist. For the first time since everything had started she felt the throbbing, ripping sensation, looking down at the gash she had made in herself. She'd cut almost all the way down to her bone, and the wound was at least an inch wide—maybe more.

Alaric was right. She was going to bleed to death.

Damon's eyes blazed. She quickly pulled her wrist away, trying to stand, gasping when his arms suddenly closed around her, pulling her to him back on the bed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing her hair, her temple, her forehead, her cheek, her shoulder, her jaw—anywhere he could reach, it seemed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

She choked on a sob as she clutched onto him, burying her face beside his in the pillow.

* * *

When she woke up, the first thing she saw was a peaceful, serene, pale, beautiful face on the pillow beside hers, so still and perfect it could have been etched from marble. A shock of dark hair brought out the white skin against the white pillows, and long black lashes curled against deep set, closed eyes. A perfectly shaped pink mouth was so cleanly shaped it really was as if it had been sculpted against the flesh.

It was dark outside. Morning. She could feel it in the air.

Her eyes fell to his neck. The flesh was smooth and clean—Damon had showered at some point in the night, and from the look of it, had gotten clean clothes. The sheets were still stained with his blood, but it had dried. Someone had changed her clothes, too, and she was momentarily embarrassed, but she was too tired to think about it. Damon was fine. That was all that really mattered.

The eyes facing her fluttered. She felt her heart skip as they opened, revealing the astonishing blue color she had been so afraid she would never see again. Damon's sharp eyes focused on her almost immediately. She wondered if he could feel her heart drumming through the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked immediately, alert, his voice soft between them.

"Tired," she answered automatically. Her wrist ached almost on command, and she tried not to wince. "How are you? Are you… okay?"

His eyes darkened. "I'm fine. You're tired because you almost killed yourself trying to save me. You lost a lot of blood." She lifted her eyes to his when she felt his hand in her hair, her breath in her throat. She could see the anguish swirling in his eyes; the pain that he felt that he was responsible for her being like this. "Just sleep."

"Are you really okay?" she pestered, but she did feel so tired.

"I'm fine. Now sleep before I compel you to do something in this bed with me you'll try to stake me for later."

She made a face at him, but couldn't resist a small smile, automatically closed her eyes. Damon was alive. Damon was okay. He was back to quipping, verbal sparring, being witty, regular Damon. She had saved him, and she wouldn't have to know what life was like without him. There, with Damon lightly stroking her hair, she drifted off to a peaceful, gentle sleep.

* * *

When she awoke again, it was dark outside.

Damon was lying down beside her in the bed, his blue eyes glowing back at her in the darkness. She blinked at him, trying to focus, her heart in her throat.

"Damon? What's—" she started, flustered.

"How's your wrist?"

She sat up, looking down at the bandaged area on her wrist. In the moonlight that filtered in through the bedroom, she could see the red stain on the bandages… And her wrist felt strangely limp. She looked over at Damon, who had sat up as well. "It's okay," she answered slowly. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I'm a vampire. We recover quick." He reached for her hand, and to her surprise, she let him. He lightly fingered around the wound, as if he could feel it through the bandages. Maybe he could. He was a vampire, after all. She watched as his eyes fell to her shoulders, and then he sighed. She stared at him, bewildered.

His eyes suddenly lifted, locking onto hers in the darkness. "Lay back," he instructed quietly.

She frowned at him. "Why?" she asked slowly, warily.

"Lay back, Elena."

Hesitantly, she did, Damon releasing her wrist as she rested back against the pillows. She felt her heart skip as he stretched out beside her, on his side. She wanted to demand to know what he was doing, but she couldn't make herself voice the words. From this angle, he could easily lean down and kiss her, and she didn't know… after everything they'd been through together… She didn't know if she could push him away… Didn't know if she even wanted to…

She felt her breath catch in her throat when he bit into his wrist, holding it up to catch the blood that immediately started to flow from the wound as he carefully started to bring it down to her mouth.

She swallowed hard. "Is it that bad?" she asked, trying to control her fear of the blood welling up on his pale flesh.

Damon gave her a flippant smile that didn't touch his eyes. "No. I just want you to drink my blood. Kinda kinky, don't you think?"

She wanted to be angry, but Damon caught her words with his wrist. She wanted to reject the sweet, thick liquid, but it slid down her throat as if it wanted to be in her… As if it wanted to join with her. And somehow it was warm and comforting and passionate and thrilling, and so completely _Damon_… She stared at his eyes as she drank, which were carefully trained on his wrist, almost as if he were deliberately avoiding looking at her.

Almost reluctantly, he raised his eyes to her. She watched as a million unreadable emotions flickered across his face, and then he seemed to shake himself and offered her a coy, flirtatious smile. "What did I tell you?" he asked, but it sounded a little off somehow. "If you want to have a go at it right now, I'm game. Stefan never has to know."

Stefan. Her boyfriend. God. She forced herself to detach from his wrist, trying to calm the pounding in her heart. "Is that enough?" she asked, scowling at him to cover up her humiliation.

"You tell me." He nodded down at her wrist. "Can you move it?"

She carefully pressed on the wound, which still ached a little, but she could definitely move her wrist now. It didn't feel limp or unmovable like it had before. She nodded hesitantly, looking back up at him.

"Good. Now, time to eat." He lifted himself off of the bed and shot her a dazzling grin. "For such a little thing, you sure have a voracious appetite."

She flushed and tossed a pillow at him. He smirked and tossed it back onto the bed, heading out of the room. She looked down at her wrist, hesitated, and called, "Damon?" When he paused in the doorway, turning to look back at her, she slowly said, "Thank you."

His smile fell a little. He nodded, and without another word was out of the room.

* * *

"Saint Stefan?"

Elena frowned as she closed her phone. "He's not picking up. It's just going straight to voice mail."

Damon flopped down on the bed they had been sharing for the past two nights and looked up at her impishly. "Maybe he's found himself a hot new girlfriend," he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She scowled at him, her scowl deepening when she realized the idea didn't upset her as much as it should. "Shut up," she ordered. She studied him, taking in his pale skin and healthy build. "You look better."

He stretched out on the bed. "It's a good thing I kept a supply of blood at Ric's, huh?"

Elena couldn't resist grinning. "Is that like keeping an extra set of clothes at your significant other's house? I had no idea you and Mr. Saltzman were so close, Damon."

"He loves me," Damon agreed casually.

Elena laughed, leaning her cheek on her palm and her elbow on her knee as she looked down at him. "How's Jer?" she asked.

"_Super_-emo," Damon answered, widening his eyes before rolling them derisively. "Honestly, Elena, what did you do to that poor kid? He's got more issues than my brother, and I didn't even know that was possible."

Elena frowned at him. "Of course he's unhappy, Damon! The girl he loves and tried to bring back from the dead—"

"She was dead when they met," Damon reminded.

She gave him an exasperated look. "Fine. The girl he tried to bring back to be a vampire, tried to kill you and him. He has every reason to be upset."

Damon groaned. "This is why he acts out, you know. He needs tough love. Spank him, or something." He paused. "I wonder if I still have my father's switch." He shook his head. "I'm sure I broke it during a fit of rage."

She scowled at him. "You're not switching my brother," she warned.

He held up his hands defensively. "It was just a suggestion." He nodded at her phone. "Speaking of brothers… Sure you don't want to run over to the house and check on mine? Be all," he threw his voice into a breathy, mocking imitation of hers, clasping his hands together dramatically, "'Oh Stefan, it was _so_ horrible and traumatic! Damon and Jeremy were almost _killed_, and Damon—that _beast_—made me drink his blood! Oh Stefan! Please hold me until all the badness goes away!'"

She smacked him with a pillow and he laughed. She wanted to be angry, but he looked so adorable, laughing like that, that she felt herself start to smile. "I was thinking we might just go disappear into his room for some private time to make me forget all about the time I've been stuck here with _you_," she shot back.

"Oh, come now, now you're just being dramatic. My company's not that bad." He wrapped his hands behind his head and arched his eyebrows at her indulgently. "Come on, admit it. You're starting to enjoy hanging out with the eldest, better looking, way more fun Salvatore brother, aren't you?"

"In your dreams," she returned, but her lips betrayed her amusement.

"Every night," he returned fluidly. She rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh or blush, looking up when he suddenly stood and held out a hand. "Come on," he said, when she just stared at him.

"Where are we going?" she asked, slipping her hand into his.

"I need some fresh air, and since Jeremy's still under house arrest for misbehaving and Ric's on Jeremy-duty, that leaves you to enjoy my charming, dazzling company."

She rolled her eyes, but allowed him to pull her out of the room, still smiling to herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

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_Author's Note_: Thank you to everyone who is coming here every day to read this! You guys are amazing!

* * *

Elena smiled up at Damon as he slid a soda in front of her, joining her at the two-person table she had sat at. She sighed as he pulled a vial of liquid from his jacket and poured it into her drink, giving it a quick stir before placing it back in front of her.

"How long do I have to keep doing this?" she asked, giving the drink another stir before bringing it to her lips and taking a drink. The vervain didn't have a strong taste, but it was subtle enough to alter the taste of her soda, and she didn't like it.

"Until you die. Ric does it every morning. Guaranteed to make sure a vampire doesn't feast on your blood."

She frowned at him. "You did, though," she pointed out slowly, watching him pause. "I drank vervain before I gave you blood."

He paused slowly. "I guess it was out of your system by then."

"So then it's not fool proof." She scowled at him. "Why are you really making sure I drink vervain?"

He stared at her, then looked away.

"Damon!"

"I don't want to accidentally be with Katherine and think it's you," he returned, his voice suddenly quiet. He lifted his eyes to her, piercing straight through her heart. "I couldn't tell you from Katherine, Elena. Twice. I couldn't tell." He smiled dryly. "I should have known the first time, but I didn't." His smile fell, his eyes darkening. "And I don't want to make the same mistake again."

She stared at him, her heart tripling in speed. It was the first time they had mentioned… what had happened. But twice, he had said? She knew Damon had run into Katherine before, but… "What happened the first time, Damon?" she asked, unable to tear her eyes from his.

He looked away.

"Hey."

Elena jumped a foot in the air when hands closed on her shoulders, lips kissing her cheek. She turned wide eyes to face the perpetrator, her heart falling into her stomach as she found herself staring at Stefan.

Her boyfriend.

Damn it.

"Stefan," she greeted, her voice sounding strained even to her own ears. She tried to push her conversation with Damon from her mind. "H-hi. Sorry. You scared me." She forced herself to stand and hug him, frowning as she pulled back to look at him. "Where have you been?"

He frowned slightly back at her, looking between her and Damon. She looked back at Damon, who smirked coyly at Stefan. She scowled at him, flushing, and turned her attention back to Stefan's wary face. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Elena stared at him. "What do I mean?" she repeated, trying to control her temper. "Damon and Jeremy almost died. I've been trying to call you for days to tell you. Where have you been?"

Stefan looked back at her in a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "Elena, did you hit your head?" he asked, frowning. He straightened, his eyes darkening as he glared at Damon. "Did you compel her?" he asked coldly, his voice flat.

Damon held up his hands innocently and stirred his drink. "Not one bit." He flashed a devilish smile. "But I'm willing to bet her drink is laced with vervain. Wanna take me up on that one, little brother?"

Stefan slowly reached down and picked up her drink, sniffing it. He pulled back sharply, looking pained, and frowned between them.

"Damon Salvatore mixology, at your service," Damon declared, smiling prettily.

Elena flashed him an impatient look. He sighed and took a drink of his beer, looking away as she looked back at Stefan, who was frowning between them warily again.

"Why are you drinking vervain?" Stefan asked.

Elena slowly sat back down. "Because I put my necklace in Anna's mouth when she was trying to tear out Damon's throat. Which you would know, if you'd answer any of my calls."

Stefan gave her a confused look, then looked back at Damon. "Damon, if you compelled her—"

"I didn't compel her," Damon snapped, sounding irritated.

"I'm not compelled," Elena confirmed, looking back at Stefan. "Why do you think I'm compelled?"

Stefan's phone suddenly rang.

He reached into his pocket, his face shifting into shock. Slowly, he held up the phone for her and Damon to see.

_Incoming call: Elena_

Elena felt her heart bottom out. "Katherine," she whispered.

"Katherine?" Stefan repeated, as if he hadn't heard her correctly.

Damon suddenly snatched the phone and accepted the call. "Katherine, dear," he greeted. "Where've you been?"

He listened for a moment, then slowly, ever-so-slowly, set down the phone, his eyes fixated on something over Elena's shoulder.

Elena felt her heart freeze as she slowly turned. There, standing by the pool tables, was Katherine Pierce.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

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_Author's Note_: Thank you to all who have reviewed and to all who are coming back to read every day! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story! :) Thank you!

* * *

It was like looking into a walking, talking mirror. Elena gaped at her as the girl approached, looking cold and calculating, a small smile curling up her lips as she surveyed the group.

"I suppose my secret is out," she sighed. She smiled up at Stefan. "But we had a good time, didn't we?"

Elena felt disbelief surge through her as Stefan stared down at Katherine, looking stricken. He said nothing, as if her appearance had somehow stolen his voice. "What are you talking about?" Elena asked, when he continued to say nothing.

Katherine looked over at her and rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't pretend to be jealous. You should be thanking me. I kept Stefan out of the way so you could get close to Damon, didn't I?" She winked at Damon. "How'd I do, lover?"

Elena was angry at herself for the brief second she entertained the idea that Damon and Katherine had planned to split her and Stefan up.

Stefan apparently held onto the idea longer than she had, jerking out of his shock to seethe over at Damon. "You planned this with her?" Stefan demanded, glaring at him.

Damon arched an eyebrow, a cold smile curling up his lips. "And if I did?" he asked.

Stefan took a step toward him, emanating cold fury. "I'll stake you right here. Right now."

Damon cocked his head. "Try it, brother." He leaned toward him challengingly. "Guarantee I've got the faster hand."

When Stefan's eyes blazed, Elena jumped in. "Stefan, stop it," she ordered quickly. "Of course Damon wasn't part of her twisted plan." Elena settled her eyes on Katherine's… On eyes she looked at in the mirror every day, if her eyes were empty and devoid of all humanity. "We're all just pawns in some game, aren't we?"

Katherine cocked an eyebrow at her, studying her. "You really look exactly like me," Katherine mused evenly. "No wonder they came after you, looking for a replacement for me." Katherine smiled. "You're not me, though."

Elena glared back at her. "Thank god for that."

Katherine frowned at her. "You should mind your manners when speaking with your elders," she warned. She turned back to Stefan and Damon. "Is she always so outspoken and rude?"

"Usually worse," Damon offered, toasting his glass at Katherine before taking a drink.

Elena stared indignantly at him and his cavalier, casual attitude toward Katherine before turning to look back at the girl, who was still watching Damon with her sharp, piercing gaze. As if she sensed Elena's gaze, the dark eyes swung and met Elena's, pinning her in place.

And all Elena could see was overwhelming darkness. Emptiness. Nothing that even remotely resembled an ounce of human compassion or emotion.

"Katherine, why are you here?" Stefan asked, sounding almost… tortured. Elena broke her stare from Katherine to look up at the youngest Salvatore, who looked strangely haggard. As if Katherine's appearance had shaken something deep inside of him. As if he was truly in agony. Elena stared at him, feeling his pain almost as tangibly as if it were her own. What was it, she wondered, about Katherine that had Stefan looking so… tormented?

"To get my boys back," Katherine answered calmly. "You two weren't supposed to find a replacement for me." She cocked a head at Elena. "Especially someone who looks exactly like me. It's… disturbing."

"She's not you," Stefan assured her, his voice shaking slightly. If Elena wasn't mistaken, he looked paler than normal. He turned to Damon accusingly. "You knew she was here?"

"Elena's drinking vervain, isn't she?"

"You didn't tell me?" Stefan demanded, sounding as if he were barely containing his fury.

Katherine smiled. "I told you, Stefan. He was using the opportunity to make nice with Elena." She winked at Damon. "But don't worry, lover. I know who you'll come back to."

Elena thought her heart would burst when Damon smiled back at her.

"Katherine… Damon spent the last 150 years trying to get you out of the tomb," Stefan told her, looking as if he were having a hard time keeping himself under control. He looked like he was either going to collapse to his knees or charge Damon—Elena really wasn't sure which, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. "Why… Why show yourself, now, after all this time? Why not run away with Damon and be together?"

Katherine ran a finger along Stefan's chest. Stefan stiffened, looking down at her as if sickened. "Because I want both my boys," Katherine purred. "Just like back then."

Stefan caught her hand and stepped away, frowning at her as he shook his head. "That's not going to happen," he told her definitively, looking firm and resolved. Elena felt a wave of relief wash over her—at least Stefan wouldn't succumb to Katherine's charms and fall into her trap. He had just been caught off-guard at the sight of her. She should have told him Katherine was back in town. She should have told him the moment she found out, instead of keeping it a secret with Damon. "I'm with Elena, now."

Katherine smiled slightly. "Are you sure?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Ask Elena where she spent the last few nights."

Elena felt herself flush. Katherine knew? She knew that she had slept in the guest bed with Damon? But how could she…? How did Katherine always know every aspect of their lives?

"I don't need to," Stefan answered flatly. "I trust Elena."

Katherine turned to Elena, who felt sick. Stefan trusted her so much, and she had betrayed that trust with his own brother. Just as Katherine had done. "Isn't that sweet," she murmured, her eyes piercing.

"Why don't you just take Damon and go?" Stefan suggested, sounding aggravated.

Elena's heart leapt into her throat. She automatically looked over at Damon, who paused with his beer bottle against his lips. He slowly lowered it, placing a hand against his heart. "What about what I want, Stefan?" Damon mocked. "I'm wounded. I thought you were the one who was all about feelings."

Stefan whirled on him. He took a step menacingly toward Damon. "Are you saying you don't want to go with Katherine? You spent 150 years trying to break her out of the tomb, and suddenly you don't want to go with her?"

Damon leveled Katherine with a look. "I'm fickle like that," he stated flatly.

Katherine studied him closely. Without warning, she turned on Elena, pinning her down in the chair with a hand on either side of her. Damon and Stefan were up instantly, prepared to pull her off as quickly as their vampire abilities would allow.

Elena felt her heart skip.

"Did you know," Katherine purred softly, staring hard at Elena, "each of the boys makes love differently. Stefan was all about being sweet and gentle, but Damon… He was all about wild passion. He used to love exchanging blood while we were making love. Stefan needed a little… encouraging… to drink."

Katherine was trying to get a rise out of her. Katherine was trying to make her angry.

And it was working.

"Were you going to murder them when they'd had enough to drink?" Elena asked her quietly. "Was that your plan all along?"

Katherine cocked her head at her, studying her. "It would have been. But I didn't need to."

"You're sick," Elena told her softly. "I pity you… Being willing to kill the men you love. You're a pitiful creature, Katherine."

Her eyes darkened. "I gave them eternal life," she said darkly.

"A life one of them didn't want... And one of them only wanted to spend with you." Elena glared back at her. "You don't deserve either of them."

Katherine had her by the neck so quickly that even though both Damon and Stefan surged forward with their vampire speed, it was too slow for Katherine. "I could snap your neck right now," Katherine murmured. "Get you out of both of their lives forever."

"They'll stake you before you walk out that door," Elena said back, with more confidence than she felt with Katherine's thumb pressing down on her jugular.

Katherine stared hard at her. "Let her go, Katherine," Stefan ordered, the panic in his voice evident through his even tone.

Katherine slowly released her, stepping back away from the group. She smiled pleasantly. "I'll see you all later," she said. Elena half-expected her to curtsey.

And then she was gone.

Stefan wrapped Elena up in his arms in a relieved hug. She hugged him back, trying to catch her breath, meeting Damon's eyes over Stefan's shoulder. Damon's eyes were filled with pain under his carefully constructed mask as he gazed back at her before finally looking away.

And she had to bury her face in Stefan's chest to keep from crying.

* * *

That night Stefan was the one curled up with her on Alaric's guest bed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

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_Author's Note_: Thank you all who have reviewed and added this story to your favorites and come back every day for updates! I know I haven't replied yet, but I wanted to get this chapter up. I will reply! But first... Wow! Lots of feedback on the last chapter about the last line. And about Elena being grabbed by Katherine in the Grill! So I'd like to address that here... There are a lot of places in the Mystic Grill where they wouldn't be seen, and also, I just didn't think anyone would be watching them that closely as Katherine wasn't causing a huge raucous. So I didn't picture anyone noticing them in a little table, not causing a scene. But it's not something I thought about, so you guys are awesome for catching that! Gotta keep on my toes around you guys, and I love it!

* * *

"Good morning, Elena!"

"Good morning, Mr. Saltzman." She smiled as he expertly turned bacon in one pan and flipped a pancake in another as she slid into one of the bar stools at the counter. "Looks good."

"Well since you and I are the only two humans in this house, I thought I should make us some decent food." He flashed a smile at her.

She grinned back, trying to force down her exhaustion. She had stayed up well into the night with Stefan, who couldn't seem to forgive himself for not knowing Katherine had been masquerading as her; for not knowing he'd been with Katherine the entire time.

She had tried to comfort him, and reassure him, but she hadn't been able to tell him that she had known Katherine was in town. He blamed Damon for not telling him, but she couldn't make herself admit her own guilt. Somehow it felt like she would be betraying some trust between her and Damon, and if she told Stefan that she knew about Katherine, she'd have to explain _how_ she knew about her… And she couldn't. She just couldn't.

And she couldn't think about Stefan anymore, either. For some reason, it made her feel… uncomfortable. Which made her feel even more uncomfortable.

"Well, I'm starving," she told Alaric, trying to shake off her tiredness and her uneasiness.

"Mmm, me too," she heard Damon say. She straightened as her hair was suddenly lifted and a mock-nip taken near her neck, trying to calm the sudden pounding in her heart and the crackle of electricity that surged through her at his appearance even as she pulled away from him, swiping half-heartedly at his playful hands. All remnants of sleepiness faded as she looked up at his handsome face, trying to force down the flush she could feel forming on her cheeks—trying not to think about how nice his hands were.

"Blood packets are in the fridge," Alaric warned, shaking the spatula at him.

Damon held his hands up in defense. "Ooo, not the terrifying spatula attack. I get it, hands off." He went to the fridge and pulled out a blood packet, hopping up onto the counter top and pulling a glass out of the cupboard next to his head, pouring the blood into it. He reached into the next cupboard and grabbed a plate, handing it to Alaric even as the teacher turned as if to go to the cupboard.

Alaric paused, stared at the outstretched plate, and looked up at Damon, who smiled prettily at him. Elena had to lick her lips to stifle her laughter as Alaric warily took the plate from him. "Thank you," he said.

"My pleasure," Damon assured him cheerfully. He took a gulp from the glass and turned to Elena. "My younger, less attractive, way less interesting brother up yet?"

"He's out hunting," Elena told him, making a face at him.

"Rest in peace, Fido. You made a good meal." He reached down into the fridge and pulled out another blood packet, emptying it into a new glass. She frowned in confusion, watching him.

"Morning, everyone," Jeremy greeted, yawning.

"Cover your mouth, young man. That's thirty," Damon warned, holding the glass he had just poured out to him.

Jeremy took it sleepily, while Elena really had to resist her urge to laugh when Jeremy took a drink and made a face at him. "Don't you ever get tired of making me do pushups?"

"Don't you ever get tired of misbehaving and deserving them?" Damon leaned back against the cupboards. "In my day, when we acted up, we got switched. You've got it easy."

Jeremy snickered. "In your day, huh? How old are you, anyway?"

Damon's eyes rolled up thoughtfully. "Old. I lost track somewhere."

"168," Alaric answered, sliding a pancake from the pan onto the plate.

They all looked over at him. Alaric seemed to sense his eyes on him, because he turned around and frowned at them. "I can do math," he shot back at them.

Damon flashed a coy grin at him. "You love me," he tossed out at Alaric. "Tell you what. For you, I'll do it."

Alaric shot him a dirty look. "I will stake you. Or lace your blood with vervain."

Damon gasped in mock horror. "Now that's just cruel," he declared. He straightened. "Speaking of vervain, don't we have a monster in the woods to go hunt?"

Alaric tossed another pancake in the air. "I thought we were going to see if she did any harm first."

"You mean besides rip my throat out?" Damon gestured to it. "'cause, you know, that hurt. Quite a bit, actually."

Alaric pulled the bacon off and set it on a rack covered with paper towels. "You probably deserved it for one reason or another."

"For all the pushups," Jeremy muttered.

"That's another twenty," Damon tossed back at him.

They heard the front door shut. Elena felt her heart skip and lodge into her throat as Stefan's footsteps echoed in the hallway, bringing him closer to the kitchen. A silence descended in the kitchen as Stefan entered, placing a kiss against Elena's cheek. She accepted it, trying to smile, carefully avoiding looking at the counter where Damon sat. She knew she shouldn't feel so uncomfortable, but she did. Stefan was her boyfriend, and yet… being with him, in front of Damon… It just felt… wrong, somehow.

"Morning," Stefan greeted.

"Morning," the others echoed. The mood in the room seemed to have darkened; subdued. Elena looked up at Alaric, who was calmly at the stove cooking, and over at her brother, who sat at the table drinking his blood. The jovial mood that had been in the room just minutes before had vanished seemingly without a trace, and reluctantly Elena lifted her eyes to Damon to see if he sensed it—to see if his expressive face would betray if he felt it, too. It was obvious he did, sitting on the counter calmly sipping his blood, but he was pretending to be oblivious to it… Pretending that a darkness hadn't descended on the kitchen.

"Good morning, my killjoy brother," Damon greeted, then, lifting his eyes cheerfully to Stefan. "Did Fluffy put up a fight today?"

Stefan frowned at him. Elena had tried to convince him Damon hadn't been maliciously keeping Katherine's appearance in Mystic Falls a secret from him, but Stefan didn't seem to want to believe it. "I don't hunt pets, Damon."

Damon rolled his eyes. "That's because you're no fun. I'd find the pet, eat it, and then find the missing poster ad and call for ransom."

Alaric looked over at him, his face twisted into a grimace. "That's because you're all kinds of evil. And kind of twisted."

Damon grinned at him devilishly. "I know. Fun, aren't I?"

"With a sprinkling of sadistic."

"Speaking of sadists… we hunting today?" Elena watched as Damon swirled his blood around in his cup before taking a drink, his eyes fastened on Alaric.

Alaric nodded and slid a plate with pancakes and bacon over to Elena. "After breakfast."

Stefan looked up at them. "You're going hunting?" he asked, frowning slightly.

Damon patted himself on the chest with his fist. "You know. Killing things in the woods, like real men." He turned to Alaric. "We should grow beards. Do you own anything plaid?"

Alaric made a face. "Plaid?" he repeated, looking disgusted. "I don't think so, no. Why?"

"Gotta get in character, Ric! We need plaid shirts. Preferably red. And giant belt buckles." He made a grand gesture. "The kind with deer on the front of 'em."

Alaric stared blankly at him. "We're not wearing plaid. Or giant belt buckles."

"You're no fun," Damon sighed. "How about hats?"

"The ones with the ear flaps?"

Damon made a face. "I said we needed to get into character, not be tacky."

"So much for getting into the spirit."

"Fashion disasters are not spirit. They're just wrecks begging to be endlessly mocked."

"Don't you mock everything anyway?"

"Only the things that deserve it."

There was a moment of silence, and then Jeremy's low voice asked, "Do we really have to… kill her?"

Elena looked over at her brother, who was sitting at the kitchen table, slowly sliding his drink glass from one hand to the other. She felt her heart go out to him. Jeremy had been desperate to bring Anna back to life, and upon success… She'd tried to murder all of them.

"We could always let her loose on Mystic Falls," Damon offered, from the counter. "Take bets on how many people she rips apart before someone is able to put her down. My money's on the entire town."

Jeremy's eyes lowered to the tabletop. Elena lifted herself from the bar and joined him at the table, placing her hand over his. "Jer, she tried to kill you. She nearly did kill Damon. I know you don't want to lose her again, but she's not Anna anymore. Anna wouldn't have wanted to hurt you. But if she stays like this, she could. That's not fair to put _her_ through."

Jeremy looked up at her, his eyes filled with anguish. "But, maybe if I… if I could talk to her, try to reason with her—"

"She wasn't really in a talking mood," Damon reminded. He gestured to his mouth and wriggled his fingers. "She was a little foamy, remember? Lots of chomping teeth."

"But she'd just been brought back from the dead!" Jeremy protested, standing and facing him. "Maybe now that it's been a few days… Maybe she's calmed down. Regained her senses. We can't just go out there and—"

"Jer," Elena tried, standing as well. She took his arm. "I know you miss her, but she isn't _her_ anymore. That woman just reanimated her body. Anna is gone."

"She's not gone!" Jeremy shouted angrily. "She's alive, and wandering in the woods. She could be scared, and confused—"

"She's probably not even thinking in the terms you are," Stefan told him, standing on Jeremy's other side, his face intense and impassioned. "Jeremy, Anna has probably returned to her most basic instincts, which for a vampire is to just kill and feed."

"You didn't see her!" Jeremy protested. He turned back to Elena, his dark eyes wild, pleading with her. "There was a moment, when she first woke up. She looked like she was going to say my name. I saw it in her eyes, Elena. She _recognized_ me." He turned to Damon and Alaric. "How do you explain that? If she's just a monster, how do you explain her recognizing me?"

"Delusions of a boy in love?" Damon suggested.

"I didn't imagine it!" Jeremy shouted, even as Elena scowled at him. Jeremy whirled around. "I'm not going to let you kill her. Not until I've had a chance to—"

"Jer—" Elena started.

But they were both interrupted by Damon suddenly in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, smiling prettily at Jeremy as he held his arms on either side of the door. "Where are you going?" Damon asked innocently. "You're not going to go off and have fun without me, are you? We're practically family now, Jer. I'm like your vamp dad." He eyed Elena. "That kind of makes you my daughter, doesn't it?" He looked over at Stefan and grinned impishly. "Now we're getting into all sorts of incestuous relationships, Uncle Stef."

Jeremy tried to side-step Damon to the right, who quickly stepped right with him. Jeremy stepped left. Damon blocked him left. They did it twice more, until Jeremy let out a sound of frustration and glared up at Damon's innocent look. "Leave me alone!" Jeremy cried. "I'm not going to let you guys hunt her down like some wild animal in the woods! I'm going to try to talk to her first!"

Stefan stepped up to his side. "Jeremy, she _is_ a wild animal—"

"She's still Anna!" Jeremy burst out.

Elena felt her heart break for her brother. She swallowed hard and slowly stepped forward, placing a hand on his arm. "Okay, Jer," she agreed slowly. "We'll try to subdue her and… lock her in Damon and Stefan's basement. Let you talk to her first. But if anything happens—anything—then we're going to have to stop her anyway we can."

Jeremy gave her a look of relief. "It's going to be fine," he promised confidently. "I know it will."

Elena smiled encouragingly, watching as he brushed past Damon, who let him go, his eyes settled on Elena. She shrugged weakly, trying to show her helplessness in the impossible situation. Then she looked over at Stefan and Alaric, who were frowning at her worriedly. She sighed. "He needs this," she told them. "If she really is Anna, somewhere in there, maybe he can get through to her. And if she's not…"

She tried not to pull away when Stefan nodded and closed the distance between them, wrapping her in his arms.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

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_Author's Note_: Thank you all so much for your comments to Chapter Nine! I haven't had a chance to respond, and I'm just running out the door (literally!) so I'll be gone for the next few days, but I wanted to get this up and share with you guys! Thanks so much for reading, and expect a new chapter when I return!

* * *

"When this plan fails and Anna is done ripping off our limbs, I'd like everyone who is still alive to remember that I was against this."

Elena looked over as Damon finished loading the vervain dart into the gun, snapping it shut and locking it in place. His tone was light, but under his mask she could see the grim look in his eyes. Damon was worried.

"It's going to be fine," Stefan told him, frowning. "As soon as any of us sees her, we'll shoot her with the vervain darts, load her into the trunk, and bring her back to the house."

"Do you ever get tired of being so optimistic all the time?" Damon asked, looking over at him.

"Do you ever get tired of being so negative all the time?" Stefan returned evenly.

"Not really," Damon drawled, slamming the trunk of Alaric's car shut. "It's where all the good lines are."

"Remember to shoot to subdue," Alaric reminded, even as he came out of the house with his gym bag, which Elena had seen him packing full of extra guns and darts. "Not to kill."

Damon made a face at him. "Are you really on board with this?" he asked him.

Alaric looked over at Jeremy. Elena followed his gaze, taking in Jeremy's pleading, desperate look, and looked back at the teacher, who let out a sigh and returned his attention to Damon. "Not to kill," he reminded, giving Damon a light push on the chest toward the car.

"Easy for you to say. Not all of us have the luxury of a ring that makes us the perfect vampire playtoy. Some of us actually die when we…" Damon paused, as if searching for another word, then seemed to give up. "Die." He paused again and looked at Jeremy and Stefan as if realizing what he had said. "Except us." He looked back at Ric and slid into the passenger seat. "But mostly you."

"Well, if Anna does kill us, you can rest in peace with the knowledge that tomorrow I'll be really sore and have a massive headache to remember the ordeal by," Alaric returned.

Damon made a face at him. "My soul will be pitying you from hell."

"I'll take some aspirin."

Elena stepped forward and hugged Jeremy tightly, clasping her hands firmly around him. She knew with the others there that it was unlikely anything bad would happen to him, but he was still her brother, and she couldn't help but worry… Especially after what Anna had done to Damon the last time they had seen her.

"Be careful," Elena pleaded quietly.

"It's going to be fine, Elena," Jeremy reassured her, pulling back to smile at her. "It's Anna. I know she's in there."

She was at a loss for words when he climbed into the back seat of the car. She looked over at Stefan, the last one still out of the car, and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her tightly in his embrace, kissing her lightly when he finally pulled away. She tried to ignore how strange it felt; how foreign and uncomfortable, especially with Damon _right there_.

"Be careful," she pleaded.

"You, too. Don't open the door for anyone. One of us will come to get you." Stefan lightly stroked her cheek. "Katherine is ruthless. She'll stop at nothing to—"

"Is this going to take much longer?" Elena broke away, looking down at Damon through his rolled-down window, annoyed at being interrupted. He looked flippant and irritated, but she could still see the concern in his blue eyes… Concern, and something deeper. Something that made her heart ache and her stomach churn. "Getting out there before dark is probably safest for Ric."

"It's ten," Stefan reminded, frowning at him.

Damon made a rolling gesture with his hand. "And we still have to find her. Subdue her. Not let her kill us." He turned to Alaric. "Do we really need him? We can leave him, right?"

"Go," Elena urged Stefan, giving him another quick hug. "Be careful."

"I love you," he returned. She tried to return the sentiment, but to her horror, it stuck in her throat. He climbed into the backseat, behind Damon.

She stared at him through the window, her eyes unable to resist looking over at Damon in the front seat. His face was unreadable, but she was sure there was some pain in there—and then it was gone.

She expected some light, sarcastic remark to fall from his lips, but nothing did. He just gazed at her, and even though Stefan was just in the backseat, right behind him, likely staring right at her, she couldn't look away from him. Her breath felt shallow and unsteady, her knees feeling strangely weak as she gazed down at him. The image of his bleeding, dying body flickered back in her mind, and suddenly it was all she could do to stop herself from throwing her arms around him, begging him to shoot to kill.

And then the car was driving away, breaking the moment.

And she was alone on the curb outside of Alaric's house.

* * *

At the knock on the door, Elena joyfully ran up to it, hesitating a mere second before she threw open the door. Slowly, she peeked through the peephole, her heart falling into her stomach when she saw the girl standing on the front porch.

"Come on, Elena," Katherine sighed, sounding bored. "I can hear you breathing. You don't have to invite me in." She grinned impishly. "Unless you want to, of course."

"Go to hell," Elena shot back at her, through the wood.

Katherine's grin deepened. "Hello, Elena," she greeted. "I saw my boys leave you all alone. Such a pity about Anna, isn't it? But it gives us a much-needed chance to chat—just us girls."

Elena's blood ran cold. "What do you know about Anna?" she asked uneasily.

Katherine suddenly scowled. "Are we really going to have this conversation through the door?" she demanded. "This is so rude. You could at least open the door."

"No."

Katherine let out an irritated sigh. "I know that the spell works. And that the spell used to bring Anna back wasn't the right one." She smiled coyly. "Now would you like to talk?"

Elena felt her stomach twist, overwhelmed by hatetred of this girl. Katherine had done this. Katherine was responsible for Anna being this… monster. The spell really did work? Then why? Why was Katherine doing this? What kind of life could she have lead that would turn her into such an evil… creature? "What were you like, when you were alive?" Elena asked.

Katherine pulled back, frowning, and then laughed. "Coquettish. Insolent. Bratty. I never wanted to play by the other's rules. I wanted to make my own."

"Did you want to be a vampire?"

Katherine bared her teeth in a smile. "More than anyone you'll ever meet." Elena watched as she reached a hand out to the door. "Come on, Elena… Let's talk. We have two very lovely boys in common that we should discuss."

Elena shook her head, even though Katherine couldn't see her. "You're just going to try to kill me," Elena declared. "Forget it."

Katherine sighed. "If I'd wanted to kill you, I would have done it the second the boys drove away. Come on, Elena, this is getting tiring."

There was no way she was opening that door. "If you want to talk, talk," she ordered. "But I'm not opening the door."

Katherine stared at the peep hole. It felt like she was staring right into Elena's soul. Her eyes were dark and endless, cold and empty. Elena shivered just looking into them. "Jenna's not doing very well, is she?" Katherine asked, so suddenly Elena felt her heart squeeze. "She's taking John's death pretty hard."

Elena almost ripped the door open. "You?" she asked, hearing the strain in her voice. "You're responsible for Jenna…"

"Zombing out?" Katherine finished helpfully. She flashed a smile. "I never said that."

Elena fell against the door. "But… she's… wearing… vervain…"

"Oh, that pesky bracelet? I took it. When she was in the _shower_, of all places." Katherine giggled. "I guess you forgot to mention that she shouldn't take it off when she was in there?"

Jenna… god… Jenna… This whole time… Elena forced down the tears she felt forming. "What do you want with me?" she demanded, her voice shaking.

Katherine's voice was hard. "I want to know which one you like better. Damon or Stefan. And don't automatically answer Stefan, or I'll have Jenna slit her wrists before you're able to get home to stop her."

She was crazy. She was really, truly crazy. Slowly, Elena opened the door, facing Katherine for the first time since she had knocked on the door. The girl really was her doppleganger—evil and all. She was dressed in head-to-toe black, black shirt, black leggings, black boots.

She looked dangerous. And beautiful. And nothing like Elena, and exactly like her.

"Why?" Elena asked, staring into the dark, cold eyes. "Why do you care, Katherine? You left them for 150 years. Why do you suddenly care, now?"

Katherine was suddenly _there_, standing only inches away from her, separated only by the barrier of the greeting she had not received. Elena could feel her breath on her lips as Katherine addressed her. "They are mine, Elena," Katherine told her quietly, her voice hard. "I will not let you take them."

Elena swallowed hard. "I've already taken them," she returned, surprised at how hard her voice was. "They're not yours anymore."

Katherine regarded her for a moment, her eyes emotionless. "You can't answer me, can you?" she asked softly. "You can't choose—not anymore than I could." She shook her head without letting her eyes leave Elena's. "I pity you. You think you've chosen Stefan, but everything in you cries for Damon."

Elena's jaw clenched. "I bet you know all about that, don't you? At least I did choose, Katherine. I didn't lead both of them on, thinking they'd spend eternity with you."

Katherine smiled. "We'll still be in our triangle, Elena. Long after you're dead." She ran a finger along the invisible barrier between them. "You may think Stefan has chosen you, too… But you should ask him about the time when we were together. I think what you discover may… alarm… you."

Elena's heart squeezed, but she forced herself to stay calm. Katherine was just trying to bait her into doing something stupid, like walking out of the house, or lunging for her. "Stefan told me everything," she returned flatly. "He told me that you two went out and that he thought you were me. You can't trick me, Katherine. I trust Stefan. That's something you and he could never share."

Katherine threw back her head and laughed.

Elena felt indignation surge through her, her cheeks flaming in anger and humiliation. It wasn't a funny comment—and Katherine acting like she knew something Elena didn't was almost enough to make Elena wish for a vervain dart.

"Are you basing your theory on me being with both Stefan and Damon?" she asked, still giggling. "He knew, Elena. He knew, and he didn't care. He wanted to be with me that much. Both of them wanted me to choose them. They would have done anything." She shook her head. "Both my boys knew."

Elena felt her anger grow. "Why are you here, Katherine?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

Katherine studied her. "I just wanted to talk." She smiled prettily. "That was all. Have a nice day, Elena."

As Katherine turned and started down Alaric's porch, Elena had the bad feeling that she'd just walked into some strange trap Katherine had set.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

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_Author's Note_: Thank you all so much for your comments! I got home this morning and saw all of your reviews, and it just made me grin even though it was 2:30 and we'd been driving for hours! So thank you all so much! I will get back to you soon! :) Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Stefan, thank god!" Elena greeted, throwing open the door to hug him. She recoiled almost instantly at the blood she saw on him from the hallway light behind her, the darkness behind him a stark contrast to the brightness inside. She felt her heart squeeze and her lungs decompress as she stared at the sick, tired look on his face. "What happened?" she asked, trembling. "Was it Jeremy? Damon? Alaric?" She grabbed his arm, feeling panic start to overwhelm her. "Stefan! What happened?"

Stefan pulled her back to him, hugging her close. "It's Jeremy, Elena… Damon's with him right now. Anna attacked him, but Jeremy was right… She's still Anna in there somewhere. She almost killed him, but she got this look on her face…" Stefan shook his head and stared at her, his expression compassionate. "She threw herself off of him and started screaming. Damon shot her with the vervain darts and Alaric tied her up with the ropes."

Elena's vision spotted black. "Jeremy… Is he… okay?"

Stefan didn't meet her eyes. "He's... hurt. Badly."

She lunged for the door. "We have to go, Stefan. I have to see—"

He caught her, holding her back, and held her so that he gazed into her eyes. "Elena, listen to me. Jeremy is a vampire. An injured vampire. Damon's feeding him blood now, but—"

"I have to see my brother, Stefan!" Elena cried, pushing past him to the door. "What happened?"

Stefan looked torn for a minute, but he reluctantly nodded and pulled the door shut behind them, leading the way to Alaric's car. "Anna… ripped his arms off."

Her knees gave out on her.

Stefan caught her before she hit the ground. Elena could barely hear him speaking to her, trying to soothe her, through the rush of blood in her ears. She tried to picture her brother, her wonderful, sweet brother, laughing, smiling, looking up at her shyly… missing his arms.

"Take me to Jeremy," she requested quietly, trying to stay calm.

He practically carried her to the car, sliding into the driver's seat. "He'll heal," Stefan told her gently. "He's a vampire, now, Elena. He'll be in pain for a few days, but he'll heal. Damon's giving him blood right now. He'll be okay."

She knew he was trying to reassure her, but she couldn't feel it. Not with the thought of her brother lying on the Salvatore's couch without his arms looming heavy in her mind. Her only thoughts were of Jeremy, her precious brother who she had watched grow up, and who had mercilessly, painfully, had his arms ripped from his body.

"What happened?" she heard herself ask, her voice rough with unspent emotion.

Stefan let out a sigh. "We were packed in a group. We were trying to find her, and she just attacked, out of nowhere. It seemed like she was aiming for Jeremy. She grabbed him and darted away with him. We all shot at her, but we were too slow with the guns. Then…" he swallowed and looked over at her—she could feel his eyes more than see them. "We heard him screaming."

She choked on a sob, trying to keep herself calm as she pictured her brother laying under that monster, trying desperately to reason with it as it savagely ripped him limb from limb. Jeremy… Her dear Jeremy… He was probably in so much pain…

She looked down at her wrist, her mind seeing through the long sleeves of her dark blue shirt the now-healed wound that she had made on herself to save Damon. The pain had been unlike anything she had ever experienced before—once she could actually feel it. She couldn't imagine what Jeremy would be feeling. She couldn't imagine what he would look like with his arms literally torn from his body.

She didn't think she wanted to. She would be seeing it soon enough.

The ride to the Salvatore house seemed to take forever. Her anxiety levels peaked as the car finally came to a stop, and without waiting for Stefan to put it into park, she unbuckled herself and rushed out of the car, not bothering to shut the door as she ran for the front door. She ran inside, her heart pounding violently against her ribs.

She felt the others in the living room and hurried there, her lungs choking her as if they had somehow gotten caught in her throat as she stared at the scene before her.

Jeremy lay on the couch, wrapped up under a blanket. He was deathly pale and ashen, but he was moving. Alaric sat beside him, pouring blood into a cup and handing it to Damon. And Damon sat right beside him, slowly pouring the cups of blood into Jeremy's mouth.

At her entrance they all looked up, Damon's face falling at the sight of her. Alaric looked grim. Jeremy offered her a weak smile.

"She remembered me, Elena," Jeremy told her, his voice soft. "She stopped herself from killing me. She remembered me."

She felt tears fall onto her cheeks as she slowly entered, kneeling beside Damon, next to Jeremy's head. She lightly pushed his hair away from his sweaty face as Damon continued gently tipping the cup against his lips, feeding him more of the liquid that would save his life—and bring back his arms.

"I heard," Elena assured him quietly, trying to keep her voice steady. "I'm happy for you, Jer."

Jeremy's eyes smiled tiredly, but he was inhibited from speaking because of the cup. When Damon pulled it away to get the next one from Alaric, handing the empty cup back to the teacher, Jeremy spoke. "I knew she would. I knew she would, Elena."

She felt her smile break. "I know you did," she whispered. "You were really brave, Jer, to risk everything to find her again." She looked up and saw Stefan standing in the entrance to the living room. She braced herself and looked back down at her brother, who had a cup back to his lips. "And it's not your fault… The spell to resurrect a vampire… It really does work. What that woman performed wasn't it."

"How do you know?" Stefan asked, taking several steps into the room, looking stunned.

Elena swallowed hard and looked up at him, trying not to notice that beside her, Damon had tensed. "Katherine came to see me."

"Katherine?" Alaric repeated. Elena looked over at him, desperately trying not to see Damon's clenched jaw or his darkened eyes. "Why would Katherine want to interfere with some spell to bring Anna back?"

"Bitch likes to meddle?" Damon suggested flatly. Startled, Elena did look up at him, then. She watched as he finished emptying his cup into Jeremy's mouth and traded cups with Alaric again, his face impassive.

But not impassive. Not really. Damon was hurting. Damon was in pain. From hearing about Katherine? Did he not realize how evil she was? Or did he just forget?

Elena drew away from him, leaning closer to Jeremy. "She also said she compelled Jenna," Elena told him softly, watching Jeremy frown. The cup against Jeremy's lips stopped tipping with the news, but before she could look up at Damon, the cup resumed pouring. "She's why Jenna is so…"

"Lost," Alaric murmured. "Of course. How did none of us think about it?"

"Well she's your girlfriend, Ric," Damon snapped, uncharacteristically cold. "Shouldn't you have noticed she wasn't compel-proof?"

"I'm not a vampire—it's not like I can tell if someone is or isn't wearing vervain," Alaric shot back.

"We can't tell," Damon returned evenly, sounding as if he were barely containing his anger. "If we could, don't you think we'd just rip it off of all of you humans when we found it? Didn't really think that comeback through, did you? Want to try again?"

"Stop it, both of you," Elena ordered, when Alaric opened his mouth to snap something back. When Damon looked back at her, his eyes were emotionless and cold… unfeeling. "Just… someone… Can what Katherine did be undone?"

"Sure. Let's just go ask her nicely," Damon returned, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Elena stared over at him, stunned. Did he really care so much for Katherine, still? After all this time? He must, otherwise he wouldn't be acting this way… But it didn't make sense, when she thought about everything else he had said and done around Katherine.

"If you can't be helpful, shut up," Elena snapped at him, surprised at her own anger.

"Fine. You feed your brother." Damon suddenly thrust the cup into her hand and stood from the floor. "This was starting to get a little tedious for my liking, anyway."

"Damon—" she protested, shocked.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked evenly, stepping in his way.

"Thought I might go find Katherine. See if she wanted to rip a few throats out together. Maybe trade tips about the fastest way to rip open the jugular." Damon stepped to his right, but Stefan blocked him again, his face dark. "As much fun as dancing with you is, I don't swing that way, and we're brothers. It's gross. Now move."

"Where are you going?" Stefan repeated calmly.

"Out. All this goody-goodiness is making me queasy." Damon stepped to his left, but Stefan stepped to his left, blocking his path once again. Elena straightened, alarm sinking in as Stefan caged his brother in. "What's wrong, Stefan? Afraid to be without your big brother for a few minutes? It'll be okay. Elena will take care of you."

Stefan's face didn't change. "I just want to make sure you're not going to go do anything stupid."

"Define stupid," Damon taunted, and somehow Elena just knew Damon was raising his eyebrows suggestively at him.

Stefan didn't look amused. "Don't you think it would be better if you stayed here?" Stefan suggested coolly.

"Not really." Damon side-stepped him and headed to the entrance, swinging back to look at them with his most charismatic, impish smile. "Don't wait up."

Elena averted her attention to Stefan, whose eyes fell closed, then slowly reopened, giving Elena a small sigh. She slowly looked back down at Jeremy and set about the task Damon had abandoned, carefully feeding her brother. She couldn't think about Damon right now—she needed to focus on Jeremy. On getting Jeremy better.

And then she would deal with how she felt about Damon's sudden reaction to Katherine.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

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_Author's Note_: I know I've been horrible and haven't responded to all of your nice comments! I'm sorry! Yesterday was pretty busy. Please know that they were very, very appreciated. I'm planning on responding to everyone this evening, so look forward to getting a dozen responses from me if you reviewed! :)

* * *

The next morning, Elena slowly climbed out of bed, careful not to disturb Stefan, and headed down the stairs to check on Jeremy. She paused as she started to round the corner to the living room, pulling back and ducking behind the corner as she saw Damon carefully feeding Jeremy blood. Alaric lay curled up in the arm chair, a blanket thrown over him, sleeping soundly.

"Did you talk to her?" Jeremy asked, sounding stronger than he had the night before. He sounded eager—excited.

Damon made a face at him. "Sure, I talked. She just hissed and grunted and snapped her teeth at me. Very attractive girl you picked, Jeremy. I see the appeal."

Jeremy let out a sound of impatience. "But did you try?"

Damon offered him a gentle look that tugged at Elena's heart strings. "I tried," he confirmed quietly. "I just couldn't get through to her." He raised the glass back to Jeremy's mouth, his voice strengthening. "Seems like you're the only one who can. So you'd better get your arms back so you can go see her and she can rip 'em off again. The last thing we need is her going for your legs. She rips those off, and you're on your own."

Jeremy laughed lightly. Elena hugged the corner of the wall, surprised at the ache in her heart. "Thanks for doing this."

There was a pause, and then a short, "Yeah, well, I don't feel like coming up with a new punishment for you, and you can't do a pushup without arms."

There was another moment of silence, followed by Jeremy's voice. "Did you find Katherine?"

Elena's heart skipped. She strained to hear Damon's next words, her heart beat methodical against her ribs. "No," he finally answered. "But I will. And when I do, I'll find out what she did to Anna—and how to reverse it."

Jeremy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said, almost uncertainly. "I know I'm a pain to look after—"

"Kid, you make me glad I never had a child of my own."

"But I'm grateful. All the same." There was another pause. "Were you able to fix Jenna?"

Elena felt her heart plummet into her stomach. "No," Damon answered quietly. "I can't undo something Katherine did. I'm not as strong as she is."

"I wonder what she wants with Jenna," Jeremy mused. "Is it really just to get at Elena?"

"Drink, nosy brat," Damon ordered, without vehemence.

Elena's knees felt weak. Of course. Of course that was why Damon had left. Not to find Katherine and run away with her, but because he wanted to stop her. To figure out what she had done so he could fix it. And if she had been thinking clearly—if she hadn't been so worried about Jeremy and so…

No. She wasn't jealous. She wasn't.

Oh, god, how could she have even entertained the idea that Damon would…? How could she think that Damon would abandon them? Would choose Katherine over…?

God. How could she be thinking these things?

She stepped into the living room, not caring if they could see the tears in her eyes. "Damon, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

He looked up, the startled expression on his face quickly masking into indifference at the sight of her. He looked back down at Jeremy. "I'll be right back. Don't eat Ric while I'm gone. He probably doesn't taste good. Healthy dieters never do."

Jeremy laughed. "I'll remember that."

Damon stood from kneeling in front of the couch and joined her in the hallway. She led the way out of the house, wrapping her arms around herself in the chilly morning air. Damon didn't look at her, and that just made the strangely tense air between them heavier and thicker. Still, he said nothing—just waited.

Now that they were out there, alone, she found she didn't know how to admit it to him. She didn't know how to tell him she had thought he was going to betray them for Katherine. She didn't know how to tell him she had thought he really was going to go trade stories with the vampire he had loved for 150 years. The words would devastate him… And she couldn't do it to him. She couldn't watch that beautiful face fill with pain and quickly cover up with a mask. Not after everything they had been through together.

"I just wanted to thank you," she said finally. "For taking such good care of Jeremy. Stefan told me you were the one who took Anna down and saved Jeremy… And you've been great with him here… I just wanted to say… thank you."

He looked up at her in astonishment. And then he looked away, a hundred emotions flickering across his expressive face. It finally settled into a frown as he looked up at her, not saying a word.

"That… was all," she finished, feeling strangely uneasy. There was so much unsaid between them—so much that went without saying. It made her heart ache in an uncomfortable, painful way. She gave him a slight nod and headed back to the house.

"Elena."

She turned back, feeling hopeful and frightened. Damon's face was alarmingly cold when he crossed the distance between them in a few steps. She felt her heart skip and lodge into her throat as she looked up at him.

"You're not going to ask if I found her?" he asked, cocking his head at her.

Her heart dove into her stomach. Somehow, she forced herself to speak, shaking her head. "I trust you, Damon."

She felt his fingers against her cheek, cool and soft, gentle. "No," he said quietly, his eyes gazing into hers with so much hurt behind his careful mask that she felt her heart breaking. "You don't."

And without another word, he turned and strode back into the house.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

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_Author's Note_: I think I've replied to everyone who has reviewed! (Yay!) :) Thank you all so much for your continued support and encouragement! I'm really happy that you're enjoying this story! :)

* * *

The last person Elena ever expected to see enter the Salvatore house was Bonnie. And yet in she walked in front of Damon, looking displeased.

"Bonnie," Elena greeted, stunned. She rose from her place on the floor at Jeremy's side, feeling Stefan rise from the seat behind her. "What are you—"

"Damon told me Anna's back," Bonnie interrupted flatly, sounding cold. "That she's a monster because some spell brought her back wrong."

Elena hesitantly looked down at Jeremy, thinking of the howling, animalistic girl in the cellar below the house. Reluctantly, she nodded. "She's not herself—"

"I'll fix her." Bonnie shifted a bag on her shoulder, her face set in stone. She turned to Damon. "I need a room with a large floor where I can draw."

Damon gestured her down the hall.

"Bonnie—" Elena started, heading down the hall with them.

Bonnie turned back sharply, holding up a hand. "Save it, Elena," Bonnie ordered quietly. "Damon told me everything. I'm only here so that there's not a monster who can't think straight loose on the streets of Mystic Falls."

Elena felt her shoulders slump, but her gratitude toward Damon and Bonnie made her want to explode. "Thank you, Bonnie," she said softly.

Bonnie gave her a hard look, then turned away without another word. Elena looked up at Damon, who met her eyes for only a second before continuing down the hall with Bonnie.

Elena slowly made her way back to the living room, kneeling down beside Jeremy, who struggled to sit up, his eyes wide with disbelief and hope. "Is she really going to…?" Jeremy asked, looking like he could barely contain his joy.

Elena smiled down at him. "I think so, Jer," she agreed.

"I want to go be with her. I want to see her—" Jeremy started, trying to get off of the couch.

Elena held him down. "She'll come to you as soon as she's okay," Elena argued. "You're still not okay to be walking around, Jer."

"But, Elena—"

"She'll come," Elena reassured him confidently, smoothing his hair back away from his face. "Bonnie will make her herself again, Jer."

Jeremy flashed a wide grin at her that was infectious. Elena looked back at Stefan, who was smiling slightly. She reached down and picked the cup of blood back up, bringing it to Jeremy's mouth. "You'll need your strength back sooner if you want to see Anna again," Elena reminded.

Jeremy grinned again and drank eagerly.

It felt like an eternity before they heard the sound of running footsteps along the hallway floor. Elena looked up, her heart skipping at the sight of the wild-looking girl in the entryway. Her long black hair was ratted and in desperate need of a shower, knotted with twigs and leaves and other dried grass. Her clothes were ripped and torn and barely hanging on her. Her face was covered with dried blood.

But her eyes were human.

"Jeremy," the girl sobbed, suddenly at Elena's side, leaning down and hugging Jeremy fiercely. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"Anna," Jeremy sighed, sounding like he was barely containing his tears himself. "Anna, it's really… you…"

Anna pulled back and looked at him, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I… look what I did to you… Jeremy… I…"

"Anna, it's okay," Jeremy reassured her lightly. "Damon says they'll come back. They're already starting." He flashed a weak smile, cringing slightly. "I'd show you, but it's pretty gross."

Anna stared at him in a mixture of confusion and relief. "Come back?" she repeated. "You're…" She leaned back, studied him, her eyes widening in disbelief as she regarded him. Her hand suddenly shot out, her fingers against his neck. Her face flooded with shock. "Jeremy…" she whispered.

"I had your blood," Jeremy explained rapidly. "And I took Elena's pills, and then in the hospital, I died…"

Elena watched as the shock on Anna's face switched rapidly to joy, then to sorrow, to horror, and finally to ecstasy. The girl threw her arms around him tightly, hugging him close.

Elena took Stefan's hand as they left the two in the room, meeting up with Bonnie and Damon in the hallway. Elena watched, confused, as Damon handed Bonnie a tiny vial of what looked like blood, which she slid into her bag.

Stefan bristled. Elena looked up at him, bewildered, then over at Damon and Bonnie. "Bonnie, thank you," Elena said, watching her friend's dark eyes stare at her darkly. She hesitated, caught off-guard by the look in the girl's eyes. "Jeremy is… really happy…"

Bonnie nodded curtly at her, then looked back up at Damon. "Don't forget," she warned evenly.

"Like I could," Damon smirked back. Elena stared at him, confused.

"Forget what?" Elena asked, frowning.

When they both just looked at her, Stefan quietly replied, "Damon made a blood pact with Bonnie. Didn't you, Damon?"

Damon arched an eyebrow. "Hmm? No. I thought I'd give it to her in case she ever wanted to go vamp." He gave Bonnie a flirtatious look.

Bonnie looked back at him in disgust, looking up at Stefan. "Will you take me home?" she asked evenly. "I refuse to spend one more minute with him, and I hear Katherine is running around."

Stefan nodded, stepping forward instantly. "What's a blood pact?" Elena asked, frowning up at all of them.

Bonnie regarded her coolly. "It's when a vampire gives a witch his blood in exchange for a service. The blood of a vampire has certain… powers… in it that can be useful for witches spells."

"And it makes it incredibly easy for her to cast all sorts of spells on him," Stefan finished.

Elena gaped up at Damon, who looked away, and then down at Bonnie, who just stared back at her. "Bonnie," she said slowly, stunned. "You can't just…"

Bonnie gave her a piercing look, but said nothing. It was Damon who spoke, sounding irritated. "Just don't turn me into a frog, okay? The idea of chomping on bugs doesn't sound like a lot of fun."

Bonnie didn't say another word as she headed toward the door. "Bonnie!" Elena objected, horrified. She turned back, her eyes cold. "You can't do this. You can't mean to… cast spells on Damon. He was just trying to help Jeremy!"

Bonnie looked back at her, her eyes dark. "I'm going to do what I have to do," she answered flatly. With a deliberate look at Damon, who made a face at her, Bonnie strode to the door and walked out of it.

Stefan gave Elena a weak, apologetic smile, and hurried after her.

Elena stared at the closed door for several seconds before slowly looking up at Damon, who was carefully avoiding looking at her. "I'll talk to Bonnie. I'll get it back from her, somehow, Damon—"

"Don't bother." Shocked, she watched as he started up the stairs to his room. "Her conditions were pretty simple."

Elena hurried up after him. "Don't do that," she argued, frowning as she followed him into his room. "Don't act like you didn't just set yourself up for anything just for Jeremy." She crossed the distance between them, placing a hand on his arm. "Damon… What you did… It was incredible. Jeremy is really happy. And I just… want to thank you." She had to look away from his intense gaze, so close to her own, and stepped away, turning her back to him. "I'm going to talk to Bonnie. I'll get your blood back from her."

"I don't need your help, Elena."

At his empty, flat words, she turned back, hurt and astonished. Damon dropped down onto his bed, stretching out on it and placing his hands behind his head, closing his eyes.

She felt her anger spike. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded, watching his eyes open and slide to her. "You've been acting weird for days now. What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Go talk to my brother if you want to discuss your feelings, Elena. Come find me when you're in the mood to be fun again."

She started to tell him off and storm out of his room, but at the last moment she turned back, finding his eyes on her. "Damon," she requested softly. "Is it Katherine?"

She watched the shock on his face shift quickly into confusion and anger, and then shake out, replaced with cold dispassion. "Why don't you go downstairs and wait for my brother to return so you two can cry in each other's arms about how emotional and hormonal you are?" he suggested, half-sneering at her.

Rage flew through her so quickly she didn't even know she was moving until she had finished slamming his bedroom door shut and was sliding onto his bed with him, glaring down into his blank face, carefully concealing his surprise.

"I don't get you, Damon. You say you want to be my friend, and you do all these incredibly nice things and make these huge gestures, but then you're a complete jerk about it. I thought I understood you, but I guess I was wrong. So explain it to me. What's going on in your head?"

He let out a groan. "Is this sharing time, now? If so, can I nap through it?"

She felt her anger melt into hurt. "Damon," she pleaded. "We both know this isn't like you. What's going on?"

He was up so quickly she stiffened, trying not to gasp in surprise. "This is _exactly_ like me, Elena," he corrected quietly, staring at her from only inches away. "Sorry to burst the romantic little image you were building of me. But this is what you get with Damon Salvatore. Now go find my brother before I decide to make a little snack of you."

A little… snack… of her?

But Damon… He had sworn to never drink her blood… He had been dying and she'd had to force it into him.

Elena steeled her nerves, lifted her hair, and exposed her neck.

She could feel his shock. Her heart raced as she waited, giddily wondering if the vein on her neck was pulsing… If he was eyeing it hungrily.

Would Damon really bite her?

Her hair was suddenly yanked back, exposing her throat painfully. She looked up into dark blue eyes, fear suddenly striking her heart as she stared up at him.

"Leave," he ordered lowly, his voice cold.

Disbelief flooded through her. He released her roughly, practically throwing her away from him. She stared back at him, not moving off of the bed even as he resumed his reclining position on the bed, his expression cold as he glared back at her.

"Damon," she whispered. "Whatever it is, if you just tell me—"

"Go use that garbage on my brother, Elena," Damon warned sharply. "Get out of my room." He sat up, his eyes venomous. "Or I'll tell him all about where those almost-invisible scars on your shoulders are from." He gave her a dark, malicious smile. "And what you sound like when you moan in pleasure."

She felt her cheeks burn. She stared at him in horror, wanting to hit him, wanting to scream at him, and wanting to… cry.

Because Damon was hurting. For whatever reason, Damon was hurting. And she couldn't get him to help her make it better.

"You're cruel," she said softly.

"You're just figuring that out now?" he returned evenly. His expression darkened. "Get out, Elena. Now. I won't tell you again."

Her heart ached as she slowly lifted herself from his bed, going to his door. She paused with her hand on his doorknob, his dark eyes watching her every move.

And then she turned and walked out of his room.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

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_Author's Note_: Thanks everyone for your comments to the last chapter! I know I haven't responded yet-I didn't get a chance yesterday! I'll catch up tonight. :) Also, as a special treat, look for the next chapter/part tonight at 7:00 P.M. PST... You'll know why when you finish the chapter. ;)

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"Hey, Damon, can you—"

"Nope."

Elena watched Jeremy's face fall in shock as they all stared at the doorway Damon had crossed. A few seconds later, the front door slammed.

"What crawled up his ass?" Anna asked, frowning from her position kneeling in front of Jeremy, carefully feeding him.

Elena watched Jeremy's crushed expression for only a few seconds more before she squeezed Stefan's hand and jumped up, hurrying out of the house. She darted in front of his car seconds before he drove away, flinching as the tires came to a screeching halt.

Damon jumped out of the car, his eyes wild with fury. "Have you lost your mind?" he demanded angrily.

"Have you?" she countered, just as angrily. "Jeremy looks up to you, Damon! You're like a brother to him. You can't just abandon him when you're angry."

"That's where you're wrong, Elena," Damon corrected, sneering at her. "I can."

"Hasn't this gone on long enough?" Elena pleaded. "Haven't we all been punished enough for… for thinking you would run off with Katherine? And Jeremy… He never did. He's never done anything but look up to you and look to you for guidance. You can't just run out on him, Damon!"

Damon stalked out from behind the driver's side door, glaring down at her. "I never said I wouldn't run off with Katherine," he corrected quietly, sounding like he was barely containing his rage. "Honestly, all of this emo-teen-angst-bullshit is getting to be a little too much for me to deal with. Go back inside, Elena. This time I won't stop the car."

She ran to his side as he stormed back to his car. "Stop!" she begged. "Damon, just stop! Tell me what's going on!"

"Go away, Elena!"

The next few seconds happened so fast she wasn't actually sure how it happened. One minute she'd been reaching for his arm and he'd been turning to shake her off, and the next, she was suddenly down on the ground, her collarbone aching as she wheezed for air.

Slowly, she looked up at Damon, horrified. He looked… stricken. Almost as if he had been the one who had taken the arm to the chest. And then his mask was back, and without another word, he slid into the car, the tires spinning as he squealed off.

She felt Stefan behind her a little bit later, helping her up from the ground, hugging her close as he carried her back into the house, nearly shaking with rage even as she tried to explain that it had been an accident. Stefan seemed ready to go hunt Damon down, but she managed to calm him down enough to agree to go to bed.

She waited up for hours, listening to the silent house, but Damon never came home that night.

* * *

Elena watched as Stefan stepped out of the living room. Anna and Jeremy were cuddled up together, watching TV, Anna occasionally bringing a glass of blood to his mouth to feed him. She stared at the front door, willing it to open, but so far, Damon had been gone for almost twenty-four hours.

Elena clenched her eyes shut, prayed for strength, and snatched Stefan's phone up off of the coffee table, quickly hurrying from the room. She darted up to Stefan's room, closing the door behind her as she searched for the number.

She dialed it quickly on her own phone, just in case Stefan used his call history for something, and waited, her heart drumming in her chest. After three rings, a smug, taunting voice answered, "The owner of this phone is a little… occupied… right now… I'm going to have to take a message."

Elena felt her knees give out on her.

It couldn't be… But it was. She would recognize that voice anywhere.

Damon.

"I'm going to hang up," Damon continued, sounding bored. "So you might want to give me your message before I do."

It couldn't be. It couldn't be. Damon couldn't… He wouldn't have… He couldn't…

There was a shifting sound, and then she heard her own voice in the phone. "Hello," it greeted, in almost a purr.

Elena shuddered, unable to speak. She felt a tear drip from her eye and splash onto the carpet beside her hand.

There was laughter on the other end. "I'll meet you at the Mystic Grill at 7:00," the voice on the other end of the phone promised. Elena didn't have a chance to wonder how she knew it was her.

The call cut off in her ear.

Slowly, Elena ended her call, trying to force the strength back into her legs. She tried to stand, trembling, but her legs felt too weak to support her.

Damon… was with… Katherine?

It couldn't be. There had to be some explanation for it… Some reason that Damon was with her. There _had_ to be. Elena had expected the girl to taunt her and pretend like she was with Damon, but to actually have him answer her phone? To actually hear his betrayal with her own ears?

No. No. She wouldn't believe it was a betrayal. Not Damon. Not Damon.

She curled up on Stefan's floor, knowing she was gone for too long, knowing he would come to look for her soon, and yet she couldn't make herself move. Damon loved Katherine. For 150 years, Damon loved Katherine. It was only… only right… that he try to find her again. Try to be with her again. Maybe she wasn't completely evil. Maybe being with Damon would bring out Katherine's good side.

If that bitch had a good side.

Elena gave a start, shocked and horrified at her own thoughts. She forced herself to stand, her legs feeling clumsy and unsteady, and found herself in front of Stefan's mirror. For the first time in a long time, she slowly tugged at her shirt, exposing her right shoulder, and turned around in the mirror.

The scars from Damon's nails really were almost invisible. She could barely see them unless she strained her eyes searching for them.

She placed her left hand over them, a heavy weight in her heart that felt strangely like an ache. How could she miss scars? Shouldn't she be glad? The kiss with Damon—the night Damon had mistaken her for Katherine—was gone. Wiped away. Damon didn't have to think he was with Katherine anymore. He was with Katherine. He was with his true love.

She raised her hands to her face to brush away the tears.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

* * *

_Author's Note:_ WOW! Lots of feedback on chapter twenty-eight. Bad news, guys... The angst continues! And just to clear up some confusion... Damon never hit Elena. She was pulling on his arm and he tried to shake her off and they both let go at a bad time and she ended up taking an arm to the chest... Damon would never, _ever_ hit Elena.

Thank you all so much for all of your comments... I'm honestly so... wow. Just speechless. :) Thank you. Thank you! Enjoy! (And have faith! It's a Delena fic!)

* * *

Elena stiffened at the cool, stiff finger that ran along her back. She looked up slowly, glaring up at Katherine as the girl slid into the chair beside her at the table.

"And here we are," Katherine drawled, smiling at her. "Hello, Elena. I must say, I've been expecting you to call."

Elena forced herself to remain calm. She had considered not coming, after deciding this was what Damon wanted, but she couldn't bring herself not to. She had to talk to Katherine. Had to know if it was real. Had to know that Katherine wouldn't hurt Damon again. "Is it real?" she asked flatly.

Katherine arched an eyebrow at her. "Is what real?" she asked back.

Elena steeled herself. "Don't play games with me, Katherine. This new relationship you're forging with Damon. Is it real? Or are you just playing with him?"

Katherine smiled, looking amused. "Does it matter?" she taunted. "I told you he was mine, Elena. A few kind words and my boys came running back to me—both of them." She coyly leaned toward her. "The things Stefan and I shared while you were with Damon…" She licked her lips, her dark eyes holding Elena's own. "Delicious."

Elena tried to force down her rage. "Don't hurt him again," she warned quietly, deliberately ignoring Katherine's bait. "I won't let you hurt him again."

Katherine's eyes suddenly darkened. "Won't let me?" she countered coldly. "What can you do, Elena? Tell me. What can you do, against me?"

She couldn't even find it in herself to be afraid. She wasn't just a girl, fighting against a vampire. She was a girl, fighting a girl, to protect someone she cared about. And she would do whatever it took to make sure he was safe. "Make you suffer."

Katherine's face was cold. "Do you really think you can do something to me?" she countered softly.

Elena leaned forward, getting into Katherine's space. The girl's eyes darkened. "I think I can," she agreed quietly. "You won't kill me. Not while you still think Damon and Stefan love me. It would drive them too far away from you. But I don't have that concern, Katherine. And I will get rid of you, if I find out you're just playing with Damon."

Katherine's eyes blazed. Elena braced herself for an attack, surprised when it didn't come. Katherine suddenly smiled, leaning back in her chair. Elena faltered, staring hard at her. "So, Damon is your choice, then?" Katherine asked. "I understand." She smirked at her. "But sorry, sweetheart… He's mine."

Elena felt indignation rise in her, but forced it down, trying to maintain her calm. Katherine was trying to get her riled up, to get the upper hand. Elena refused to give it up. Refused to lose her ground. "Just don't hurt him," she warned. "Or I will come for you." She grabbed her purse and stood from the table, glaring down at Katherine. "And take your compulsion off of my aunt."

And with that, Elena stalked out of the Mystic Grill.

She trembled the entire way home, practically falling out of her car as she headed up the walkway to her front door. She stuck the key in, her fingers feeling thick and clumsy as they tried to jam the key into the lock.

A hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her movement. She gasped, looking up in terror to her right, shocked at the sight of a very furious looking Damon Salvatore standing beside her.

He ripped the key from her hand and thrust it into the door, grabbing her arm and practically throwing her into the house. She stumbled, uttering a protest as she caught herself, glaring up at him as he slammed the door shut and locked it. Wordlessly, his firm, tight grip locked around her arm as he dragged her up the stairs.

"Damon, you're hurting me!" she protested, her disbelief fading to fear. She had never seen Damon look so… angry… before. Icy cold rage rolled off of him in waves, chilling her. He slammed her bedroom door shut and threw her down onto the bed, stalking to her window and closing the curtains before turning to look at her with cold eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, astonished.

"Why were you meeting with Katherine?" Damon asked darkly.

Katherine? This… this whole thing… This was all about Katherine? Damon was furious with her because of Katherine? Was this Damon's way of defending his lady love? Had Katherine told him Elena had threatened her? Was Damon out for revenge?

She forced down her tears, feeling them replaced with her own surge of anger and fury. "It doesn't concern you," she shot back.

"Doesn't…" he started to repeat incredulously. "Katherine is _dangerous_, Elena, and you're playing a game you can't win—and my idiotic brother and I can't save you from it!"

She felt her hands form into fists. "I'm not playing a game," she snapped at him. "What are you even doing here, anyway? I thought you wanted me to stay away from you. What was it, Damon? You didn't want to deal with my emo-teenage-angst-bullshit anymore?" She strode to the door, yanking back angrily when he intercepted her, catching her. "Let go of me!" she shouted, feeling strangely blinded by rage. She didn't know why she was so angry at Damon. Damon had been looking for Katherine for 150 years. He'd sacrificed everything to try to get her out of the tomb. Everything Damon did had been for Katherine. And she'd known… She'd known all along how Damon felt about Katherine. Who Damon wanted to be with. So he'd been a jerk… Damon was always a jerk. Why was she behaving so much like…

A jealous girlfriend?

"Not until you listen to me," he snapped, locking her arms behind her. She was unable to resist looking up, finding herself staring into furious blue eyes. "Stay away from Katherine, Elena. She's dangerous. She'll snap your neck and won't think twice about it. And there's nothing Stefan and I can do against her. So _stay away from her_!"

"You can't tell me what to do," she returned venomously, her words a ragged breath as she tried not to melt in his embrace. "You don't own me, Damon. You're nothing to me. _Nothing_. Now let me go."

He looked down at her in a mixture of anger, confusion, hurt, disbelief, bewilderment… And then it hardened into something colder, and he sneered down at her. "While I'm sure my brother appreciates your willingness to sacrifice your life by going to Katherine to make her stop trying to destroy this ridiculous town you seem to love so much, I can't imagine he would be pleased to find out you've been playing with death. Because that's what Katherine is, Elena. She's death. And she'll come for you—after she's done tormenting you."

"And you know all about that, don't you?" Where were these words coming from? They fell from her lips even as she desperately fought them, and yet somehow she felt unleashed—like if she kept hurting him, he would accept her words and go away… Walk away from her with those searing eyes, and that voice that had answered Katherine's phone, and that face Katherine had been gazing at that very day, those lips Katherine had probably… No! "Katherine's been tormenting you for 150 years now. You should know better than anyone what she's capable of. Stefan moved on, Damon, but you're still stuck in your pitiful little existence, loving a woman who couldn't even choose you over your own brother. Even now, you're willing to play second best. I'm sure you know all about Katherine's torment."

He looked… horrified. He looked absolutely horrified. She had hurt him. Broken him. She could see it on his face even without words needing to be exchanged between them.

She, Elena Gilbert, had just broken Damon Salvatore.

She wanted to take it all back—to throw the words back into her mouth and stop them from ever spewing forth. She wanted to throw her arms around him and beg for his forgiveness and apologize. She wanted to tell him she hadn't meant any of it.

But those words were lodged in her throat as they stared at each other, only inches separating their faces.

Damon released her, stepping back slowly to her door. She watched his mask slide on, betraying none of the anguish she could _feel_ swirling around inside of him. He reached back without looking, his hand wrapping around her doorknob. "Stay away from Katherine," he said emotionlessly.

The door opened.

"And if I don't?"

She didn't know what had possessed her to ask. All she knew was that Damon was leaving with that heartbroken look on his face; that destroyed look in his eyes.

And she would have done anything to keep him there, for just one more minute.

Damon looked back at her slowly, his face blank. "Then Stefan will be looking out for you on his own."

And with that, Damon was gone.

Author's Note: WOW! Lots of feedback on chapter twenty-eight. Bad news, guys... The angst continues! And just to clear up some confusion... Damon never hit Elena. She was pulling on his arm and he tried to shake her off and they both let go at a bad time and she ended up taking an arm to the chest... Damon would never, _ever_ hit Elena.

Thank you all so much for all of your comments... I'm honestly so... wow. Just speechless. 3 Thank you. Thank you! Enjoy! (And have faith! It's a Delena fic!)


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

_Author's Note_: I'm so sorry I haven't replied to your reviews yet... Yesterday was crazy, crazy busy. I promise-promise-promise I will get to them all tonight! I don't want you guys to think that I'm not reading them and don't appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment, because I absolutely do. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you, but I will! You guys really mean the world to me. Thank you so much for your reviews and for coming back every day to read! I'm really happy that you're enjoying this story. :)

**Warning**: _Semi-graphic violence ensues._

* * *

Elena felt like she was in a fog. All day long she had been at school, numbly making her way through her classes. She smiled when appropriate, said the right things at the right time, but inside, some part of her felt… dead. Empty.

"Hey," Stefan greeted, coming up beside her at her locker. He kissed her lightly, his hand trailing down her arm. "How was math?"

"Boring," she answered, rolling her eyes automatically. She forced a smile. "How about you? How was English?"

He shrugged and offered a slight smile. "About the same." He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and allowed him to lead her down the hallway. She caught sight of Bonnie with Caroline, who turned as if she felt Elena's eyes. Bonnie stared hard at her, her dark eyes endless. Elena wanted to say something to her—to reach out to her and try to rebuild their friendship—but she just kept walking, allowing Stefan to lead her through the double doors and into the sunlight.

"Are you hungry?" Stefan asked. "I thought we could get a bite to eat."

Elena wanted to tell him she was tired, and was just going to go home. But instead she smiled. "That sounds good," she agreed.

He flashed a smile and led the way out to his car. As he unlocked the door, Elena heard rapid footsteps approach and looked up, her blood running cold.

"Have either of you seen Damon?" Alaric asked, his face twisted tightly into a frown.

Stefan approached the hood, Elena mechanically mirroring him to join the teacher who stood between them. "No," Stefan told him slowly, his eyebrows knitted together. "Why? What's wrong?"

Alaric took a step closer and lowered his voice, darting a quick look around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. "They just found the bodies of a couple of students in the woods by the river."

Elena felt her heart plummet into her stomach.

Stefan straightened. "You think Damon is involved?" he asked, his eyes flashing.

Alaric stared at him in a mixture of annoyance and blankness. "No," he told him, as if the idea was ludicrous. "I wanted to let him know in case he went out last night. But he's not picking up his phone."

Elena's lungs deflated.

"I haven't seen him since yesterday," Stefan told him, frowning. "Why don't you drive by the house and see if he's there?"

Alaric nodded. "If either of you see him, can you tell him to call me?"

Stefan nodded. "Of course."

They exchanged goodbyes, Elena feeling strangely cold. She shivered as she looked up at Stefan, who gave her a sympathetic, gentle look before wrapping his arms around her. "It was probably Katherine," Stefan told her, his tone reassuring. "And Damon's probably napping and doesn't want to be bothered. I'm sure it's nothing."

She wasn't sure. Not after the night before. Not after the look in Damon's eyes. Still, she nodded, trembling, and flashed a weak smile. "How about that food?" she suggested, hoping she sounded more normal than she felt.

Stefan eyed her closely, but he nodded, leading her back to the passenger door. He pulled it open and she slid in, trying to control the tears that threatened to fall.

Damon was missing.

Damon was missing, and two teens were dead.

It had to be Katherine, she reasoned. Katherine, trying to mess with them. She probably knew Elena and Damon had fought the night before. She had some weird way of knowing everything that was happening with them. There was no reason to believe Damon was involved.

She gazed out the window, her heart aching with a pressure she hadn't felt before. _Damon_, she thought, forcing back the tears, _Where are you?_

_

* * *

_

Katherine giggled as Damon ruthlessly snapped the neck of the woman they'd just fed from. "Too easy," she declared. She hungrily eyed the gagged, half-naked man who stared up at them in terror. "I'll show you the fun way."

Katherine leaned forward and ran her fingernail along the man's neck, wrapping her hand around it. His eyes blazed in terror. He started to whimper and squirm pathetically, the desperate motions of a bird with a broken wing, cornered by the hunter. She giggled again, and in a swift movement, lifted the man, cracking his back in half over her knee. The satisfying snap of his spinal column made her giggle again as she turned triumphantly to Damon.

He was suddenly on her, pressing her back against the decayed church wall. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her passionately, as hungrily as they had just feasted. She could still taste the human's blood in his mouth and sucked harder, trying to get every last drop of it.

Damon yanked her shirt open, his mouth everywhere along her neck, her collarbone, kissing her greedily. She moaned in pleasure as he sucked along her throat, gasping when he suddenly bit down, drawing blood.

At first she had been suspicious of Damon approaching her. But after her conversation with Elena the night before, and her killing spree with Damon, she knew it had been foolish for her to be wary of him. It was Damon, after all. Damon had always been entranced by her.

And he always would be. Damon loved her. Only her. Elena was just a replacement for her… And a pathetic one at that.

Her blood spilled out along her neck, dripping onto her shirt. He slid his hand along her neck, capturing the blood even as the wound began to close and heal. She moaned and clutched him harder, trying to break him into pieces as they kissed. She could taste her own blood in his mouth, metallic and warm, thick and rich.

"Let's leave," Damon whispered, kissing her shoulders. "Let's just go, Katherine. Let's leave this ridiculous town and rip the world to pieces as we make our way through it—just you and me."

She sighed, low in her throat, and pulled away, seeing the disappointment flicker on his face as she did. She giggled and brushed her fingers along his lips. "Not without Stefan, you greedy boy," she taunted.

Damon's eyes flashed. "I don't want to spend forever sharing you," he declared angrily.

She bit at him playfully. "You'll be my favorite," she reassured him, then pulled him down to kiss her once more.

* * *

Damon looked down at his phone, disbelief coursing through him. He had fifty missed calls? Who had called him fifty times?

_Missed call—Elena._

Sadness and a painful ache formed in his heart as he stared at the number, confused and wary. Elena had called him? After that night in her room the night before? Something must have happened to his worthless brother. Or to Jeremy.

He felt a sudden stab of panic. Jeremy? It couldn't be… Jeremy was holed up in the house with Anna. And those two were disgustingly sweet together—it made him want to vomit. There was no way anything could hurt Jeremy with Anna by his side.

Alaric? No… The teacher was invincible.

Then it had to be Stefan. Something had happened to his baby brother.

Damon checked the time of the last call. It had been made only ten minutes earlier, at 11:40. She would probably still be awake. He climbed quickly into his car and headed to Elena's house, checking his text messages.

_From: Elena. Message: Damon, damn it, where are you?_

He rapidly scanned through almost fifteen text messages along the same lines. Asking him to call. Asking where he was. Telling him about the two teens he and Katherine had murdered the night before.

His foot hesitated on the gas. As he drove down the long stretch of highway, he slowly hit "call" on Elena's number.

"Damon!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't even heard the phone ring. "Elena," he greeted flatly. "Is there a reason you're using up all my SIM card space?"

"No one has heard from you since yesterday. Did you get my messages? There were some students from the school murdered last night—"

"The ones left by the river?" he interrupted flatly, closing his eyes, relieved that his voice didn't betray the wave of pain that washed over him.

She sucked in a breath. "So you heard? It has to be Katherine, Damon. She's—"

"It was Katherine. With a little help from yours truly."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. He clutched the wheel so tightly he was surprised it didn't break in his grip. "You're lying," Elena said, sounding shaken.

She knew he wasn't. She knew he wasn't, and she wanted him to be. But why? Why, when she had Saint Stefan at her side? Holding her. Kissing her. Loving her. Why did she care if he ripped open a few teenagers?

"I'm not. We could do some forensic testing. Their wounds against Katherine and my teeth." He bared his teeth even though she couldn't see them through the phone in a smile. "I bet they're a match."

He could almost see her, curled up on her floor, clutching her phone, trembling. "You're lying," she said again, half-begging him to tell her he was.

And the sick part was he wanted to. He wanted to tell her he was. He wanted to tell Elena that it had all been Katherine. That he hadn't ripped the girl's throat out and feasted on the blood that gushed from her with Katherine. He desperately wanted to tell her that.

But he couldn't. Because he had.

"Did you call me fifty times to accuse me of being a liar?" he countered, hearing the irritation in his voice. He was relieved it came through like that… Relieved it covered up the turmoil inside of him. "Not very classy, Elena." He lifted his voice, deliberately making it sound suddenly intrigued. "Why are you calling me, anyway? I thought we were in agreement about where we stood on the subject of one another."

"Were we?" she asked. He could hear the challenge in her voice—the sudden renewed strength. It made him ache again. He hated this. He hated this game. Couldn't she see that? Couldn't she see that he just wanted her? That he didn't want to play games with her? That he didn't want to see her with his dimwitted brother? That out of all the times he had hated Stefan for being chosen over him, he had never been so torn up about losing to his younger brother?

Didn't she know what she did to him?

"I believe we were quite clear," he replied, keeping his voice light. "I hoped you were calling in a panic to give me the good news that my broody little brother was dead, but since you're not—"

"Can you come to my house?" She sounded determined. He loved that about her.

He thought of Katherine's blood on his sleeve. "No," he replied calmly.

She sucked in a quick breath that made his unbeating heart ache again. "Can I meet you somewhere?" she pressed. She clearly wasn't in the mood to be deterred. "I want to talk to you."

"We are talking. It's quite a riveting conversation, really, but—"

"Damon." And there was something in her voice… Something that made the bones in his body go weak. "Please."

He pulled into Mystic Falls, looking down at the blood on his sleeve as he paused at a stoplight, shining back at him. "I'm sorry, Elena," he said softly, sincerely.

And then he hung up the phone and kept driving.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

* * *

_Author's Note_: Here it is, guys... Damon finally reveals all! Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful reviews, and thank you to all of you who are coming back to read every day! :) You guys are amazing! I think I'm all caught up and have responded to everyone! And for those of you wondering, there are four chapters left...

Also-a friend of mine did an interview with me for an author spotlight on her blog, and it's posting today! There's a link to her blog on my profile, so if you're curious, definitely head that way and check it out!

* * *

He hung up on her.

Damon had hung up on her.

Elena stared down at the phone in her hand, her stomach twisting itself into knots. She hadn't expected Damon to be quite so… cordial… after their last conversation, and the hateful things she had said to him. But he'd been so cold, too… So much colder than Damon was.

But he was hiding something. She knew it. If he and Katherine had killed those two teens, Damon had a reason. Maybe he was just trying to reconnect with Katherine, but if that was it, didn't he see she was a bad match for him? Didn't he understand that she was poison for him? Dark and dark were never meant to be together.

She had never meant to call him after Stefan had dropped her off at home. She'd done her homework, cleaned the house, checked on Jenna—who still sat practically comatose on the couch—and then called Stefan. After learning that they still hadn't heard from Damon, she hadn't been able to think of anything else, and had started calling him before she could stop herself.

And that had been her response?

She hurried down to the front door, grabbing her purse from the table. She needed to talk to Damon. She needed to find him. He'd been driving, and since he'd called, he couldn't have been with Katherine. She needed to find him, and apologize, and tell him… She didn't quite know what to tell him. That she was sorry? That she hadn't meant what she said? That she'd been so overcome with—and she choked just thinking of the word—jealousy that she couldn't think straight? It didn't matter. She needed to set things straight with Damon. She needed to make him understand, no matter what it cost her.

She threw open the door, reeling back as she stared at the person staring back at her.

The lips curled up into a cruel smile. "Hello, Elena," Katherine greeted.

It was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Damon asked impatiently, eyeing Bonnie's cauldron, where the fabric stained with Katherine's blood now lay, his cut up over shirt discarded on the floor beside the large pentagram she sat in. "I ruined a perfectly good shirt for this."

Bonnie looked up at him coldly. "This was your idea, remember? You told me Katherine was in town and tormenting Elena and something needed to be done about it."

"You were the one who said you could do something about it as long as you got some of her blood," Damon countered. "I spent the last week wooing a woman whose neck I would have rather snapped to get you that. This had better work."

Bonnie glared at him, but she wordlessly went back to her book of spells. He fidgeted, agitated. He felt strangely uneasy, like something was wrong. Some dark sense of foreboding.

"Are you ready?" Bonnie asked him.

Damon bared his teeth at her. "Just do it," he ordered.

She shot him another dark look, but slowly began to pour the vial of his blood—now a vibrant red color—into the cauldron with Katherine's. _"I need the blood of a vampire who is compassionate,_" Bonnie had told him, when he had first suggested the spell to her. He had started to propose his overly-tenderhearted brother when Bonnie had leveled him with her dark eyes. _"Yours will do. And I need it now to prepare it for the spell."_ He had tried to argue with her, but she had insisted it be his despite his reservations that the spell wouldn't work with his blood. And sure enough, as she cupped her hands over the cauldron and began chanting, the candles began to flicker, the cauldron slowly starting to bubble.

Damon felt hope surge through him.

His phone beeped at him, alerting him to a text message. He ignored it, staring hard at Bonnie. The girl was starting to pant and sweat, but she was still chanting; her hands still cupped over the boiling liquid that he could smell singe her skin.

His phone rang. He angrily reached into his pocket to shut it off, his heart skipping as he stared at the number on the phone.

Katherine.

He ignored the call, slowly sliding the phone back into his pocket. Katherine never called him. Ever. In the week that he'd pursued her, trying to keep his distance from the others to prevent her from figuring out what he was up to, she had never once reached out to him. Maybe he had finally managed to convince her? Maybe she was finally ready to trust him?

Too bad it was too late.

"Hurry," he urged the girl on the floor. "Hurry…"

There was a loud bang against the window. Damon jumped, looking up in disbelief and horror to see Katherine standing there, a dark look on her cold face. "Keep going," Damon muttered to Bonnie, who obediently began chanting, faster. The candles around them flickered harder as Damon stared into the dark eyes burning into his.

And then Katherine smiled.

Damon felt a lump form in his throat.

He watched, horrified, as Katherine suddenly revealed Elena's frightened, struggling figure in the window.

And then Katherine's fangs extended, her mouth dropping violently onto Elena's silky neck.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

Elena screamed at the painful, searing, burning sensation of Katherine's fangs in her neck. She tried to push the girl off of her, but it was useless. And she could feel the blood being sucked from her, draining her. Katherine was trying to consume her whole.

There was a loud crashing sound, and then she was on the ground, clawing her way to her feet, staring in horror at the whirlwind in front of her. _Damon_, her mind thought, a cry escaping her when he was launched into a tree. Katherine didn't turn back to her, though. She was on Damon again before Elena could blink, so fast it was as if she had teleported. Elena cried out, surging forward, but Katherine and Damon were fighting again, and it was all a blur as they fought in the yard, crashing into trees and cars in the street.

But Damon was overpowered. Katherine was older than he was, and just plain _stronger_. Elena cried out as Katherine yanked back his head and sank her fangs into his neck.

She didn't think about the consequences as she ran across the yard, trying to rip Damon away from Katherine. The girl's dark eyes flew open and she suddenly spun to Elena, grabbing her fiercely by the throat as she let Damon fall to the ground, weakened.

"I'll kill you," Katherine told her, through a mouth full of teeth, spilling blood all over her face. "I'm going to rip you apart and listen to your bones crack under my heel."

"That would be a shame," Damon announced, standing. Elena looked over at him, relief surging through her as he glared at Katherine. "She has such a pretty bone structure."

Elena gurgled on a scream as Katherine's hand tightened around her neck. An instant later she was on the ground, and Damon and Katherine were fighting again, flying across the yard with one another.

"Make her stop!" Katherine shrieked. "Make her stop, or I swear I will destroy everything you love, Damon! I will make you suffer like you never have before! Make her stop!"

Elena stared at her in bewilderment, trying to clear her fading vision. Who was Katherine talking about? What was Katherine talking about?

"I trusted you!" Katherine screamed. "I trusted you!"

Damon clamped his hands around hers, locking them behind her back. "It's a bitch to be betrayed, isn't it?" he sneered.

Katherine shrieked and lunged forward with her teeth, ripping them into Damon's shoulder.

Elena cried out, rushing toward them. She picked up the nearest thing she could find—a baseball bat, bless those neighborhood boys—and ran at Katherine, swinging the bat as hard as she could.

The girl gave a tiny jerk forward, pausing in literally eating Damon, and turned to glare at her with cold, ruthless eyes. Elena choked on a protest as the girl again wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed her thumb into her windpipe, cutting off Elena's air.

Damon flung himself at her, and the two went topping down onto the ground. Elena fell to the ground again, exhausted, watching as Damon and Katherine flew from one side of the yard to the other, cracking a tree in half as they slammed into it.

Damon pinned her against the tree, staring down coldly at her.

And then there was a horrible, terrible shrieking sound.

Elena straightened, terror gripping her as she watched the girl against the tree suddenly clutch her head and howl, a high-pitched, shrill sound. She stood shakily, watching Damon continue to hold her against the tree, his face intense as he stared at her.

He suddenly let go, and Katherine slid down along the tree. Elena stared, stunned, as the girl began to sob hysterical, uncontrollable, heart wrenching tears.

Her heart fell flat against her stomach as Damon slowly knelt down and drew her into his arms.

Bonnie's front door opened, and the girl stood there, her eyes expressionless. "It's done," she said quietly.

Elena looked back at the weeping girl curled up in Damon's protective embrace and fell to her knees.


	19. Chapter 19

**History - 19**

* * *

Elena stared numbly at Damon as he stood in the living room in front of the fire place, an impassive, blank mask covering his features.

"You're saying Bonnie… turned Katherine's… compassion… permanently on?" Alaric repeated slowly, staring at Damon incredulously.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Damon asked.

"I didn't know that was possible," Anna mused. "Katherine's always been so cold… I wonder what she's like with compassion."

Damon shrugged lightly. "Guess we'll find out when she wakes up. She's feeling pretty weak from the whole thing."

"Are you sure it worked?" Stefan asked, his face unreadable. "Are you sure it's not just a trick?"

Damon looked at him expressionlessly. "Take one look at her when you talk to her. Ask me then."

"Damon?"

They all stopped at the timid, somewhat uneasy voice from the entry way. Elena felt her heart skip into her throat as Damon quickly crossed to Katherine's side. She looked so tiny and… young. Unsure about everything. She looked at all of them with haunted, frightened eyes.

It was almost impossible to believe that just the night before this tiny creature had ripped into Elena's throat so badly that Damon had made her drink from his wrist until she thought she would burst.

And then he had wordlessly carried the delicate, unconscious girl to his waiting car, barely waiting for Elena to slide in with him before driving away.

And Damon wrapped an arm around her comfortingly, his face full of concern. "You shouldn't be up," he told her gently, soothingly. "You need to rest."

Katherine's eyes were wet as they surveyed the room. "I-I heard you all talking," she said slowly. "I… was hoping I could see… Jenna… I can remove the compulsion from her."

"You're too weak now," Damon objected lightly. She looked so small beside him, curling up around him. Elena felt her heart ache at the sight. It was almost like watching herself with Damon… Only not. As if Damon had looked between two versions of herself, and chosen the one that wasn't actually her… As if she had just been a replacement, all along. A stand-in. "You can do it once you're stronger."

Katherine nodded slowly, a heavy look on her saddened features. Elena stared, sickened, as Damon carefully turned and disappeared with her back down the hallway… Up the stairs.

She stood. "I… need some air," she announced. She all-but ran out of the house, trying to control her breathing.

Stefan was at her heels as she stepped into the fresh air. She turned to look back into his dark eyes, trying to figure out what to say to him.

"I'm not sure I believe it, either," he said, startling her with his words almost as much as with the hope shining in his light eyes. "But it… it looks genuine, Elena. She really might be the real Katherine again."

Elena felt giddy.

"I know what she's done to you can't be undone. I'd never ask you to forgive her." Stefan stepped forward entreatingly. "But if she can remove the compulsion from Jenna, maybe… it's a step."

Elena could only stare at him. She tried to form the words to speak, but even the thoughts in her head were muddled. She could only walk past him, to go back to the house.

"Elena," Stefan protested, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. His eyes betrayed his surprise. His surprise and… was that guilt? Oh god, it was. It was guilt. What really had happened between Katherine and Stefan when the vampire had been masquerading as Elena? How much more had Stefan enjoyed Katherine's company than Elena's? Was Elena really destined to lose both brothers to Katherine? Had Katherine been right all along? Had Elena just been a temporary… placeholder? "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I need to be alone right now," she told him. She watched his face flicker with repressed anguish and guilt—how long had he been carrying that on his shoulders and she had never noticed?—even as she walked back into the house to grab her purse.

Damon was coming down the hallway, toward her, as she stood. They both paused, their eyes meeting.

For a moment, she felt paralyzed. All the things she had wanted to say to him the night before when she'd left her house swirled around in her head as she gazed into his bright blue eyes, carefully concealing any emotion that might betray how he felt. She had an almost uncontrollable urge to run into his arms and beg him to choose her… beg him to pick her.

But she wouldn't. Damon had waited 150 years for Katherine. She wouldn't do that to him. And she wouldn't do it to herself.

Elena forced herself to speak the words that tortured her. "I'm glad you have her back," she told him softly, bowing her head to him.

And then she turned and hurried out of the house.

"Elena, can we just talk about this?" Stefan pleaded, even as she jammed her key into her car door.

"I just need some time alone, Stefan. I'll call you." She climbed quickly into her car, shutting the door behind her. She could see him still standing there in her rearview mirror as she drove away, looking uneasy and hurt.

And as she rounded the corner, she burst into tears.

She didn't know how long she drove for, aimlessly driving along the freeway until a wave of exhaustion so heavy washed over her that she nearly fell asleep at the wheel. She quickly pulled off at the closest gas station and bought a cup of coffee, climbing back in her car and staring at the road in front of her. She could turn around and go home, or she could try to find a hotel and sleep.

Somehow, the idea of being away from it all, with just her thoughts, was almost irresistible. And she really was exhausted.

She found a decent looking hotel, the three-and-a-half or four-star kind, and purchased a room for that night with the credit card Jenna had given her. It was only noon, and check-in wasn't until three, so she handed her car over to the valet and wandered down the street, stopping in one of the stores to buy herself a pair of black shorts and black tank top to sleep in. Then she bought a new dark blue shirt to wear the next day. She stopped in one more store for some toiletries, and by that time, her arms were tired and she was even more exhausted, so she went back to the hotel, praying they would have a room ready.

To her relief, they did. She took the key and headed up to the room on the eighth floor, bolting the door shut before turning to survey the room. It was a simple hotel room, with a bed, large screen television, and a small table. It was decorated in dark browns and white walls—nothing fancy, but she didn't need anything fancy.

She needed to be alone.

Alone, to think about Damon and Katherine and Stefan.

Katherine had warned her that the boys were hers… And Elena had foolishly believed that they weren't. But it was clear they still were—both of them. They had a bond of 150 years and eternity. There was no way Elena could compete with that.

She slid into the pajamas she had purchased and curled up in the bed, turning on the television. She flipped off the lights and stared at the flickering images on the screen, trying to control the empty feeling inside of her.

Stefan would be worried. She should call him and tell him she was okay. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Slowly, she reached into her purse and hit the power button on her cell phone, watching as the light flickered out.

And then she settled back into the bed and tried not to cry.

The next day she checked out of the hotel reluctantly, even getting a late check-out of 1:00 P.M.. She had seriously considered staying another night, but she couldn't charge that much on Jenna's credit card, and she knew Stefan would be worried about her. Even if he was with Katherine, he was still the same caring man she had fallen in love with once, and he would be concerned. It had been selfish of her to take off without telling anyone where she was going.

And worse, she still didn't feel any better about the situation.

She drove around for hours, until dusk started to settle in. And then, only then, did she finally decide to head home.

She slowly pulled into the driveway of her house, which suddenly looked foreign. She climbed out of the car, picking up her bags from the back, and made her way to the front door, unlocking it.

She shut the door behind her, going straight up to her room. The house was eerily quiet… As silent as a mausoleum. She shuddered at the thought, opening her bedroom door.

And felt all the blood drain from her face.

Because there, standing in the middle of her room, was Damon Salvatore.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Thank you all for all of your wonderful comments! :) Thank you so much for your support of this story throughout this journey. I'm so happy that it has meant so much to you!

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked unsteadily, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her. Damon was there. In her room. In _her_ room. Waiting for her. Giddily, she wondered how long he'd been standing there.

Damon stared at her with unwavering eyes. "You went missing for two days so you could go shopping?" he asked, his voice strangely quietly.

Elena felt her brief elation, exhaustion, and confusion build up into anger. "It's none of your business," she snapped, dropping her bags on her floor. "What are you doing here, Damon?"

He stared at her. Wordlessly, he crossed the distance between them. She stiffened but held her ground as he approached, until he stood just inches in front of her.

And then he clutched her to him.

She almost sagged in his embrace. It took all of her strength to keep herself up on her feet. If they'd given out, though, Damon had such a fierce grip on her that she wouldn't have fallen. She would have stayed standing, right where she was, in his arms.

She wanted to protest—to remind him about Katherine and about Stefan and the fact that they were currently barely on speaking terms—but she couldn't. His embrace was too powerful. Too warm. Too comforting. Too secure. She wanted to close her eyes and lean into it and forget about everything that had happened… Forget any time had passed since she and he had slept in Alaric's guest bed together, mere inches between them as they curled up to sleep, facing each other. She wanted to push all of it from her mind, everything she was supposed to remember, and just lose herself in his arms.

But she couldn't. She couldn't, because she had Stefan to think about, and now Damon had Katherine back. Katherine, who Damon had loved for 150 years.

Katherine, who Damon had left to wait in her room for her to come home.

She forced herself to step away, flushed. She couldn't find the words to explain why she had remained in his arms for so long… Not that there was an excuse for it, anyway. She could only try to put distance between them, and avoid looking into his stunning blue eyes, which seemed to rip right into her.

The air between them was heavy with unspoken words. She could feel it, thick and tense, waiting for one of them to just say something—one thing that would change everything between them, forever. Elena desperately tried to hold onto the image of Stefan in her mind, but it kept falling away, the blue eyes gazing at her all-consuming. She tried to picture Damon holding Katherine in the living room, but it was just an image of Damon holding herself, and it made her heart ache.

She lowered her eyes, unable to look at him for a second longer. "You should leave. Katherine's probably waiting."

He caught her wrist as she turned away to go to her bags, her breath catching in her throat as she stared up at him. She'd never seen him look so serious before… So intense. So unreadable.

Her heart felt like it was being shredded into pieces.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked, his voice quiet, his eyes never leaving hers.

It couldn't be real. She tried to tell herself that he was just being polite—or just being regular, taunting Damon—but she couldn't believe her own thoughts. Damon… Damon, who she had been through everything with, was asking her if she wanted him to go. Damon, who she had handed over to Katherine without protest because it was what he had wanted for so long, was asking if she wanted him to stay.

To stay with her.

She tried to say yes. She tried to say no. She tried to say _anything_, but the words were stuck in her throat. And everything—everything—was riding on her response. She knew it. He knew it. And he knew she knew.

And he was waiting.

After everything they had been through together, not all of it very pleasant, he was still standing there, waiting.

Damon had Katherine back. Katherine, who he had loved for 150 years.

And he was waiting for her.

Waiting for _her_.

She turned back to him.

The fear—the unadulterated _honesty_—in his eyes shifted. She saw it lift into joy, wonderment, and swell with a love and passion that made her giddy.

His hand around her wrist turned, loosening its grip into a gentle hold. She felt him start to step forward, to lean down, her heart nearly shattering her ribs as she stood without moving, waiting, never taking her eyes from his.

And then he stopped.

"Hello, Stefan," he greeted, his eyes suddenly lifting. Elena's eyes widened in horror, terror striking through her. Damon effortlessly lifted her arm and spun her around to the door. "I found her. Wouldn't you know it? She's in the last place we thought to look. Her own room."

She was sure Stefan saw the guilty, stricken look on her face as she faced him in her doorway. He looked between them with a slight frown, stepping into the room. "Where have you been?" he asked Elena. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

She felt Damon release her wrist and forced herself not to look up at him—tried not to think about what she had just been about to do with him. About how much she hated Stefan for suddenly appearing at that exact moment. "I just took some time for myself, Stefan. Is everything okay?"

He shot a distrustful look at Damon, and then looked back at her, still frowning. "Katherine's downstairs with Jenna. She's removing the compulsion."

Damon suddenly straightened. "She's not strong enough to be doing something like that yet," he objected, scowling.

Elena felt her heart skip at the look on his face. He was still concerned about Katherine? Of course he would be, but… But if he was still concerned about Katherine, then why was he there, in her room? Why had he just tried to kiss her?

"She's fine, Damon," Stefan reassured him evenly. "She's been drinking a lot. She's strong enough to handle this."

Damon glared back at him. "You know how much strength it takes to pull off a compulsion. Do you want her to screw it up and permanently turn Jenna into a celery stalk?" He brushed past Stefan without another word, heading out of the room.

Elena watched him go with an ache in her heart, slowly shifting her gaze back to Stefan, who was staring after Damon. After a moment, he looked back at her, his gaze intense. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Stefan slowly stepped back, holding out his arm to the hallway. "Let's go check on them," he suggested quietly.

It was only when she walked by him and smelled his familiar cologne that she realized he hadn't hugged her once.

And she hesitated on the stairs when she realized she was glad.

She all-but fled down the rest of them, hurrying into the living room. As she rounded the corner, she came to a stumbling halt, horror gripping her heart. Jenna was rocking back and forth on the couch, crying. Damon was on his knees in front of her, trying to calm her down. Katherine was beside him, tears spilling down her lovely cheeks, a panicked look on her face.

"I'm sorry," Katherine cried. "I'm sorry! I can fix it! I can! Damon, let me! I can!"

"You've done enough!" Damon snapped roughly at her, taking Jenna's shoulders. "Get out of…" He trailed off as his eyes met Elena's, and she saw the grief on his face… the concern. "Get her out of here," he ordered Stefan, nodding at Elena.

"What's… wrong with… her…?" Elena choked out, half-falling into the room as she stared at her aunt.

"I was too weak," Katherine sobbed. "I shouldn't have tried yet. I'm sorry, Elena. I…"

"Get her out of here, Stefan!" Damon barked at him, darting another look at Elena before returning his attention to Jenna.

Elena shoved off the arms that wrapped around her shoulders, trying to pull her out of the room. She sank down beside Damon, who paused in his gentle, soothing talk to Jenna to glare down at her.

"I-I'm okay," Elena managed to say, staring at her trembling, rocking aunt. Her breath caught in her throat as drool slid down Jenna's chin. "Just… help… her…"

Damon looked ready to argue, but he just returned his attention to Jenna, looking determined. Elena barely heard him through the rush of blood in her ears. Jenna's eyes rolled up in the back of her head and he shook her until they came back, not quite focusing on him.

"You're fine, Jenna… You were upset about your brother's death, but you're fine now. It's just like everything was before he died. You're fine. You're fine. You're not hurt anymore. You're not devoid of all emotions, thoughts, or feelings. You're fine. You found you again."

Jenna began to mumble.

Elena felt tears slide down her cheeks as she stared at her aunt. Her aunt, who was so strong, so smart, so witty, and she was a balled up, shaking mess of spit and mutterings.

"Jenna, please," Elena whispered, willing her prayers to reach her aunt.

"Jeremy and Elena need you," Damon went on, his voice still lilting and soothing. "They need you to come back to you, Jenna. To leave the emptiness behind. To come back. To be fine again. Everything's fine, Jenna. You're fine."

She didn't know how long he sat there, compelling her. She only knew that her sobs had dried and she could only sit numbly at his side, exhausted, feeling strangely broken. She could sense Katherine on Damon's other side, occasionally weeping, and Stefan comforting her, trying to reassure her through her tears.

But she couldn't feel anything. She could only watch Jenna.

And then, slowly, Jenna's eyes stopped rolling back into her head. Her rocking slowed, and then finally stopped. She sat up straighter, and her mouth closed.

Elena straightened herself, disbelief and hope surging through her. Damon sat up higher on his knees, and without letting his eyes leave Jenna's, locked onto his, he said, "Now sleep, Jenna, and when you wake up, you'll be fine. Completely normal, as if you had never been compelled by Katherine."

Jenna's eyes fell closed and she sagged in Damon's arms.

Elena choked on a sob of relief as Damon caught her aunt, carefully setting her up on the couch. He stood, and it was only then that she saw just how exhausted he was. He looked ashen and weak, and if she wasn't mistaken, a little unsteady on his feet.

She stood and threw her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispered, clutching him fiercely. She didn't care that Stefan and Katherine were both in the room. She didn't care if either of them read too much into the way she clung to him, or heard the catch in her voice. Damon had just saved her aunt. He had brought her back from the brink of madness. "Thank you."

He lightly ran a hand down her back and stepped away, a light, tired smile on his face. She wanted to protest—wanted to pull him back to her—but she couldn't. Not with the other two in the room.

"We need to get you home," Stefan told him, appearing at Damon's side. Elena almost took a step back, suddenly uncomfortable and uneasy. Stefan's face was alarmingly unreadable.

Damon nodded and turned to walk to the door. Elena cried out when his knees suddenly gave out under him. She lunged forward, but Stefan was already there, catching him by hooking Damon's arm around his shoulders and holding his arm firmly around his older brother's waist to hold up his unconscious form.

Stefan lifted Damon easily, turning to look back at Katherine. "Come on," he said to her. He gave Elena a light, almost sad smile. "Don't worry. He'll be fine. He just exhausted all of his power."

And it was with those words that Stefan Salvatore broke up with Elena Gilbert.


	21. Chapter 21 The End

**Chapter 21 - The End**

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Thank you all for coming with me on this wonderful journey together. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have! Without further ado, I present you the conclusion of "History."

* * *

The door swung open almost violently.

"Elena!" Jeremy greeted, looking at her in surprise. "What are you doing here? Stefan and Katherine went out about an hour ago. I thought they were meeting you."

She smiled at her brother, who had one arm wrapped firmly around Anna, who had both of her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. She briefly wondered if she was upset about Stefan going out with Katherine, and then realized, with a bit of sadness at herself, that she wasn't.

She only wanted one thing.

"Is Damon here?" she asked.

Jeremy pulled back, his eyes widening. "Damon?" he repeated, looking down at Anna for confirmation. She nodded up at him hesitantly. "I think so. I think he's still sleeping. I haven't seen him all day."

She nodded once at him and then made her way past the two cuddly... well, she couldn't really call them teens… but she couldn't think of her brother as a vampire. The cuddly couple? She guessed that worked.

She slowly made her way up the stairs to the second floor, her heart skipping in her chest as she approached Damon's room. She knocked once, waited, and knocked again. "Damon?" she called. "It's Elena. Can I come in?"

Silence.

Slowly, she turned the doorknob, pushing the door open. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room, so she took the time to shut the door behind her. She turned back, spying the figure curled up on the right side of the bed, wearing only a pair of jeans.

And it was a damn beautiful figure.

She felt a blush creep up on her cheeks as she approached the left side of the bed, slowly sinking down on it. Damon didn't shift as she curled up facing him, laying the way they had so long ago, in Alaric's guest bedroom.

He looked better today. He had clearly fed. His skin wasn't ashen anymore, and he looked steadier—healthier. As if nothing had been wrong the night before.

She smiled to herself as she studied his chiseled features. His long black eyelashes rested against his cheeks, and his dark wavy hair curled boyishly on his forehead. He was adorable when he slept.

The eyes slowly opened. Her heart picked up speed again as blue eyes looked over at her across the pillows, focused on her, and then focused on her again, as if he weren't quite sure what he were seeing.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked, then, eyeing her.

She almost felt tears in her eyes. "No," she answered, surprised at how soft her voice was.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Are you dreaming?" he teased.

She had to laugh. "No," she told him.

"Can I check for a pulse?"

She smiled and held out her hand to him. He took it with gentle, tender, cool fingers that lightly probed at her pulse. Clearly deciding she had a beating heart, his fingers intertwined with hers, holding her hand on the bed as he stared at her.

"Does my saintly brother know you're here?"

"No." She wondered if he could see the lack of guilt on her face. "Jeremy said he and Katherine went out about an hour ago."

"An hour, hmm?" Damon mused. Her eyes widened in surprise when he suddenly yanked her to him on the bed, pulling her flush up against him with a teasing smile. "Guess we don't have much time, then."

She watched the confusion and surprise flicker across his face as she reached up and hesitantly brushed her fingers lightly through his hair. "We have time," she said softly, searching his eyes for a sign he understood… A sign that he wanted this.

Wanted her.

And there it was… The confusion and surprise slid into warmth and comprehension, the love flooding his eyes impossible to miss—even for her.

Damon smiled boyishly. "Time is such a nasty thing to waste," he teased lightly. She could feel the change come over him; could feel him draw her closer, into an embrace instead of a hold. And this time she didn't fight it… didn't fight the overwhelming love that swirled up inside of her as she stared into his blue eyes.

"Let's not waste it, then," she returned, smiling back at him.

He flashed a grin, and then his lips were on hers.


End file.
